Round Two
by hopeful.inspiration
Summary: Still suffering from the Cabal's attack, Helen needs time alone to heal. Trouble inevitably follows. And it's not even in the form of Nikola Tesla either.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Owning nuffin'.

A/N: Whoa, been super-busy! But I'm getting back into the writing groove and so I hope you enjoy this new fic of mine!

* * *

Chapter One

Wiping the blood off his knife on the pants of the dead man lying in front of him, he took a moment to enjoy the frozen look of surprise on the face of his victim. Blood slid down the sides of his face in rivulets, collecting in his ears, from the bullet wound directly to the middle of the forehead.

It would have been a surprise to anyone to walk into the security of your home only to stop dead in your tracks and be staring down the barrel of a gun. Without knowing the why and the how.

The bloody carving of a symbol on the victim's chest was an extra, a calling card, and a pleasure he derived all on his own.

In his pocket, his phone vibrated. With gloved hands, he extracted it and checked his message box.

It's done. Wire money as instructed, he typed before clicking an new, unopened email.

A picture popped up, along with a money amount, address, and deadline.

A black-gloved thumb ran over the lit screen, memorizing the brunette curls and blue eyes.

* * *

"_Ashley, you don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. Please."_

"_Mom?"_

"_Ashley!"_

Helen's book went flying off her lap and landing with a thump on the carpet as she shot up on the window seat, gasping for breath and breathing hard.

She looked around in disorientation at the unfamiliar settings when Helen realized that she was not in Old City, but her villa in France. It had not been the annual 'every seven years', but Helen had to leave.

One year had passed. One year since her daughter had sacrificed herself. One lonely year without her.

It had been hard, still was, to walk around the Sanctuary and be reminded of Ashley everywhere. Her presence had permeated everything, and some days, Helen wished she could lock herself in her office and cry, but the world continued to run, and there were Abnormals to deal with. The world did not stop, simply because for one long minute, a year ago today, it had for Helen.

Seeing all the somber faces at the Sanctuary had been horrible. Kate had been inconspicuous because at that time, she had not exactly been on their side and Will had thought that it would be a brilliant healing exercise for everyone to gather in memorial and say what they loved most about Ashley Magnus.

This was one time Helen wanted to snap that Will had not been and would never be a mother.

And so she left. With minimal notice to everyone; Helen packed up, leaving her laptop, her cell phone, and essentially disappeared.

Her villa was located in an isolated part of France, remote and rural, and she thought, had contained exactly what she needed to properly mourn her daughter. Quiet solitude and peaceful surroundings to cry over her child that she loved so much.

Instead, Helen found herself haunted by nightmares in the silence of the huge villa with nothing to distract her from relieving that horrible day. Over and over, Helen saw Ashley changed, altered by the Cabal and used, and that one heart-breaking moment when Ashley's beautiful blue eyes, so much like her own, returned awash with realization of what she had become.

It was dark outside and she had fallen asleep, only to suffer a nightmare. Whether here or at the Sanctuary, the nightmares followed her. Helen rubbed a weary hand over her face and swung her legs over the edge of the window seat to pick up her book.

Only to pause and cock her head, listening to the silence around her. Or rather, the near-silence, save a faint echo on the marble floors throughout.

Helen was the only one there, by all rights, and on bare feet, sprinted across the carpet and into her purse for the gun she never went without.

Someone was in her house.

Opening her bedroom door, Helen tiptoed out. The sun had long set and the dim moonlight shining through the double-height windows were all she had to guide her.

The echo grew closer and turned into the soft foot-falls of soled shoes, heading steadily in her direction. Helen plastered herself against a wall, gun raised, and waited. Her mind raced as to who had tracked her down here, why, and what they wanted.

A dark shape loomed in the shadows and Helen reacted instantly, crouching and sweeping her foot out, catching the intruder in the back of the knees and sending them toppling backward.

He twisted to the side, throwing his hands out to catch himself, and Helen threw herself at him, trying to contain his hands and gaining the upper hand. He evaded her attempt and grabbed her wrists, rolling them over so that he was on top of her. Helen grunted and raised her head to slam into his face. The man had the audacity to chuckle when he moved his head out of range, but Helen waited for this. With his weight lessened on her body, it gave her more room to twist her body to the left and bring her right knee sharply up to dig into his stomach.

Letting out a grunt, Helen yanked her wrists free, furious and gearing up for murder.

Rolling them over, Helen straddled the intruder and pointed her gun directly at his face.

Nikola's arrogant smirk greeted her. His blue-gray eyes sparkled up at her as he raised his hands to the side of his face in mock-surrender. "Well hello, Helen. I've always wanted to get rough with you; never imagined it on the floor, though I will take what I can get."

Helen scowled and her hand tightened around her gun wanting to shoot him for his antics when her conscious reminded her that Nikola was no longer bullet-proof. Damn it all to hell. She'd have to be careful around him now. A sadistic part of Helen had rather relished the fact that she could shoot Nikola when he got on her nerves and not have to worry about the consequences. "Nikola..." she sighed. "What, may I ask, are you doing here?"

Helen made a move to get up, but Nikola's hands descended upon her waist, keeping her straddled on top of him. "No, no, please don't get up. I've often wondered, what this would be like too," he murmured. Nikola shifted subtly underneath her.

"Nikola!" Helen slapped his hands away and hastily got off to one side. "Get up."

"It often seems Helen, that you like saying my name." Nikola got up and dusted himself off. "Rest assured, I have not given up hope in hearing you scream it in a tone other than anger."

"What are you doing here?"

"Can't an old friend visit another?" Nikola smiled at her.

Helen huffed and started walking away. "When that friend is you, your visits are always viewed with a healthy dose of suspicion. How did you know about this place?"

"It wasn't that hard, Helen." Nikola caught up to her with his lanky stride. "You look absolutely beautiful, by the way." His eyes roved over her blue cotton dress with thin straps in appreciation. "So unlike what I've seen you wear. It suits you."

At his sincere tone, rarely used, Helen softened. She looked over at him. "What are you doing here, Nikola?"

"It's been a year. Since that day." Nikola hesitantly caught her hand to stop her. Holding it with both hands, he peered into her eyes. "I know that you would probably like to be alone, but..." He blinked. "I thought it best that you weren't."

His words made Helen's eyes water as tears rose to the surface. Biting her lip, she looked away. His hand, warm against her own, anchored her against the flood of emotions rising up in her. "I thought that if I got away, it would help. Away from the constant reminders. But I see her face, hear her voice...whether I'm awake or sleeping." Helen sniffed, shifted her gaze to the ceiling, trying not to cry. "I never managed to take Ashley here. I was always so busy, and there was never any time." Helen's face began to crumble as Ashley's smiling face flashed through her mind. "And now it's too late." She began to sob.

Nikola swallowed a lump in his throat at watching her shatter. Wordlessly, he gathered Helen in his arms, tightening them as her face buried itself in the crook of his neck and cried hot tears. "Helen...I'm so sorry."

He wrapped one arm around her waist, steadying her against him while he used the other to rub circles on her back, sliding up to tangle his fingers in those brunette curls. Nikola closed his own eyes, heart breaking as Helen's body shook with sobs against his own. And he wondered if she had ever had time to properly grieve.

Helen's muffled sobs echoed in the marble hallways of the empty villa and Nikola turned his head to plant a comforting kiss against her hair. "I'm so sorry, Helen," he repeated, burying his nose in her curls.

A few minutes in Nikola's strong comforting embrace and Helen began to quiet down, full of heartache, but out of tears. It was the first time since Ashley's death that Helen had truly broken down and cried. Sniffling lightly, Helen gently broke away and smiled wanly at Nikola. "I needed that."She hiccuped lightly. "Thank you, Nikola. For being here." Helen looked into his eyes sincerely before dropping to the collar of his blue dress shirt, wet and marked with mascara. "But I've ruined your shirt. And I must look like a frightful mess." Helen began wiping at her face.

Nikola stopped her by catching her hands with his. He shook his head and gazed at her with soft eyes. "You always look beautiful to me, Helen. And you're welcome." For once, it wasn't a smirk that graced his lips, but a genuine tender smile. "But now," he took a deep breath, "what say you take pity on this old friend of yours and show him a room to rest? I'm finding myself once again with the affliction of needing to sleep."

Helen laughed quietly. "Of course. This way."

It did not go unnoticed by either that she still held onto his hand. Before there was love (on his part at least), there had been a close friendship. The two of them had been friends even before the formation of The Five, and that bond, with its ups and downs, was still tight as ever. Nikola was there to give comfort, and Helen, for once thankful, took that comfort. In fact, Nikola was probably the only person with whom Helen could comfortably drop her mask and vice versa.

Feeling lighter than she had in days, Helen smiled to herself as she weaved her fingers through those of the man who was the reason for it.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer in first chapter.

A/N: Posting this quickly before my internet fails...again, for the fiftieth time! So, thanks to those who read, who reviewed, I would've responded if my stupid service provider wasn't, well, some profane word. And what is up with fanfic taking away my nice page breaks? Is there some way I can make them save properly? Anyway, thanks for reading and enjoy. Oh yeah, I upped the rating for this fic because of some saucy stuff in future chapters! =D

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Chapter Two

The rare feeling of joy lost in those last weeks came to Helen the next morning when sipping her tea at the breakfast table, Nikola stumbled in at nearly noon. His hair was unkempt and sticking out at odd ends and there was a day's worth of stubble on his face. Nikola plodded, still half-asleep, toward the counter, groping around for something.

When he didn't find it, Nikola cracked his eyes open further. "Helen...coffee?"

Helen sneered at the word. "Putting it down to your half-catatonic state, Nikola, I will politely remind you that I despise coffee." He groaned. "It's too early for wine, but I have orange juice and water. Or tea." She smiled brightly at him, holding up her cup.

Nikola groaned again, as if in pain. He wrinkled his nose at the tea, and opened the fridge for the orange juice, looking at it mournfully. He'd only had orange juice once, and that was only recently, and out of desperation.

Helen felt that spike of joy again as Nikola joined her at the table in his black attire, half-asleep and drinking orange juice in protest.

She was happy he was here.

* * *

Helen's lips curled into her first smile the next day walking down a hallway to the library and glancing through a window facing the gardens.

Nikola's small figure was turned away from her, but it was clear to see that he was feeding the birds. The villa was remote, so woodland pigeons were more apt to inhabit the woods nearby, but Nikola was clearly enjoying himself.

He scattered pieces of bread, not seeds as she had none, to the crowd of birds gathered around him and even gently coaxed a few to eat from his fingers. Helen never failed to be amazed at the many sides of Nikola Tesla.

He could be cruel and kind, a killer and a savior, a genius capable of creating beneficial, life-changing inventions for the better and be a man without morals. And Helen knew that despite whatever he did, she could and would never change Nikola for anything.

She smiled once more at his figure that now had a bird perched on each arm and continued on her way.

* * *

Helen's eyes sparkled with light for the first time that night when Nikola burst in to the music room where she was playing the piano, triumphantly waving about the bottle of wine like a long lost friend.

He had found her wine cellar. And the utter happiness on his face, the exulted exclamation of not being forced to drink orange juice anymore, was so radiant over something so small, that Helen's eyes couldn't help but light up.

Slowly but surely, Nikola was driving away the despair in her heart.

And perhaps replacing it with something else.

* * *

Two days later, Helen's heart was well on its way to mending and her laughter rang out for the first time since she had arrived.

The cause of her laughter was, of course, Nikola. It was loud, belly-aching, joyous laughter that had her falling helplessly onto a chaise lounge by the pool, clutching her stomach.

The pool in which she had just pushed Nikola Tesla into.

The look of complete surprise, followed by panic and much arm-flailing in windmill circles proved too much and would forever be enshrined in Helen's happy moments in her mind.

Nikola surfaced, sputtering madly and wiping the water from his eyes. "Helen!" he growled as he began swimming to the side. "I cannot believe you indulged in such childish antics. That was completely un-called for." He hauled himself out of the pool, water cascading down his body, revealing him wearing nothing but black swim trunks.

Wiping tears from the corner of her eyes, Helen inconspicuously enjoyed the sight of water drops running down his firm bare chest and wiry-muscled arms and she fought the urge to lick her lips. Now was not the time, she scolded herself. "You were asking for it, standing so close to the pool. Protocol dictated I had to." She tossed him a towel. "Besides, you're fine. I know you can swim."

"Being a vampire with electricity running through you for more than a century, I will need more than just a few months to acclimatize," he snapped back lightly, taking the towel and wiping himself dry. Nikola scrubbed his face, pulling away to see Helen quickly averting her eyes from his body. He smirked to himself and dropped the towel onto the end of the chaise. "You know, as my hostess, I think you should do something to make up for your poor manners and scaring your guest."

Helen gave him a sardonic look and merely picked up her book. She flipped it open and began to read.

"Helen." Her name was breathed in Nikola's silky voice directly into her ear and Helen jerked her head in surprise, turning her head to gasp quietly at seeing Nikola's handsome face no more than a few inches away. His eyes glinted playfully.

"What?"

Nikola reached out to rest his hands on either arm of the chaise, leaning his body into her. "Didn't you hear what I said? You have to make it up to me for pushing me into the pool." His voice was low and he'd cornered her like a predator after a meal. Nikola dipped his eyes to Helen's bared skin, starting at one shoulder, traveling across her collarbones, to the other shoulder, and finally down to the swell of her chest, covered only in a black bikini. There he lingered, caressing her skin with his intense gaze, and Nikola gave a slow grin at Helen's shiver.

Helen, flustered and cursing her fair skin as a faint blush rose, attempted to glare at Nikola. She cleared her throat. "What do you want, Nikola?" A second after she'd asked the question, Helen winced mentally.

The look on Nikola's face grew even more predatory at the loaded question. "Your fair skin is getting all flushed, Helen," he observed lightly. "Must be from the blazing French sun, yes?" They both knew that wasn't the answer. Taking one hand off an arm rest, Nikola trailed his fingers in a feathery caress up Helen's left arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps. "I would not want you to burn. So," his fingers lifted and plucked the bottle of sunscreen off the small table beside the chaise. "Why don't I rub some lotion on your back?" Nikola smirked arrogantly as he stood back up, palming the bottle. His smirk only got more conceited as Helen glared at him, struggling not to show her loss of composure.

Helen's hand twitched to smack Nikola. Arrogant little...She calmed herself and got her thoughts in order, before an idea hit her. "Hmph. If there's anyone here who should talk about fair skin, it's you." She pointedly eyed him.

Nikola tossed the bottle between his hands. "Vampire, Helen," he reminded, a bit disappointed that he hadn't shaken Helen up that much. But never let it be said that Nikola Tesla was a failure at anything; he'd just have to try harder.

"Part. And the sun never affected you."

"Yes, of course, forgive me that oversight," Nikola mocked. "I just...never found the time. Besides," he leered at her, taking in her bikini-clad body. "the beach is lonely with a party of one."

"Anyway," Helen reached out to swipe the bottle of sunscreen and got up, "as I was saying, it's you that has the most to worry about. Skin cancer and all that. Sit." Helen gestured. "And I'll do your back."

She bit back a devilish grin at Nikola's temporary loss for words.

Nikola stared at her, wondering how Helen had effectively turned the tables. In a span of two minutes! He always knew that Helen Magnus was a dangerous enemy. Nikola stared suspiciously at her before cautiously taking a seat. She wouldn't really do anything, would she? It was him that she had to watch out for. Helen was Miss. Prim-and-Proper, somehow retaining her Victorian sensibilities in an age where young teenage girls took their tops off just to get on TV -

Oh.

Nikola instantly tensed at the feel of Helen's hands, cool with lotion, sweeping across his back. That was not the touch of a Victorian lady retaining _any_ sensibilities, or virtue, for that matter. Her hands were firm against his skin, massaging the lotion deep into his muscles, and Nikola just about died. Helen wielding a gun was hot; Helen being deliberately seductive was just downright bone-meltingly sexy. And Nikola couldn't stifle his groan.

Helen swallowed triumphant glee.

She slid her hands over his shoulders, massaging, down over his shoulder blades, his lower back, and brushing the sides of his stomach. He grunted and twitched a bit there and Helen gained a suspicion.

Helen was feeling completely content. Staying in her French villa, surprisingly not missing work, with her heart feeling lighter all this past year, rubbing sunscreen on Nikola's back.

Again that feeling returned. Of being completely at ease, relaxed, and stress-free. Only with Nikola. And Helen was tempted to lower her lips to lightly kiss his back.

The sensual touch was gone, Nikola noticed as he relaxed under Helen's fingers. Her point had been proven and now he just enjoyed her soft touch.

After leaving Sanctuary, Nikola had retreated for awhile, intent on sulking at losing his vampirism, but also intent on making the most of his new power. And while Nikola was capable of doing a great number of spectacular things, a part of him still felt bereft. Being a vampire wasn't just about the advantages that came with it, Nikola had had dormant vampire genes in him already that the Source Blood had only awakened. He had lost part of his ancestry that day.

He'd wandered for a bit, trying to find places to settle down to work on his inventions, but something was missing. And so, in needing to think about what that was, Nikola needed calm and quiet. And he had always found that in just being near Helen. Around her, Nikola felt lighter, better, and not so oppressed by today's society.

Nikola chuckled mentally. Despite their youthful looks, he and Helen was relics of an old age.

"I think you can do your front," Helen's voice broke through; the bottle sliding into his lap.

"What a shame," he murmured before twisting half-way and wrapping a quick arm around Helen's bare waist.

"Nikola!"

He shuffled closer, the relaxed posture of Helen's body telling him that she wasn't even angry at him. Nikola laid his head down on her shoulder, his nose brushing against her neck. "There you go again, saying my name in that tone. Seriously, you do that often."

"That is because your actions are always scandalous, Nikola." Helen couldn't find it in herself to be angry. Nikola's weight against her was comforting. Even back in Oxford, it wasn't unusual for Nikola to fall asleep against her shoulder or for him to suddenly reach out and start playing with a bouncy curl. He had stopped once John started courting her, she recalled sadly.

"This is perfect. You, me, all alone," Nikola murmured, sounding drowsy. "You should have told me about this place during my globe-trotting days or rather, during my days on the run in the 40's. I could have happily hid here. Away from the outside world." He turned his head to raise his eyebrows at her.

"The outside world beckons though."

"But are you ready to greet it?" It was his roundabout way of inquiring if she had mourned long enough.

Helen looked up into the sky and noted sadly that the sky blue color was the exact same shade as Ashley's. Though, she thought lovingly, her daughter's eyes were never serene and calm, they were usually filled with mischief and excitement. And Helen imagined that her daughter was looking down at her, right at that moment.

It was as though, if she ever felt lonely and sad about Ashley, all she had to do was look up into the sky.

"Nos must amitto vivo en."

Nikola raised his head at the apparent non-sequitur and noticed Helen staring up at the sky with a look of sad acceptance. He kept his arm around her, and kept quiet.

We must let go. We must let go to live on.

But she couldn't.

How can a mother ever get over the death of her child?

From birth until her death, Ashley had been Helen's constant. They had been through it all together, broken bones, boy crushes, first dates, first steps, soothing nightmares, driver's license to buying her first motorbike and gun – since the break-up of The Five, Helen had lived alone. Ashley gave her something to cling to in life.

How could she let go of that?

Her eyes shone with un-shed tears as that familiar heavy weight settling within and Helen blinked furiously at the sky, trying not to give in, trying not to cry yet again.

She inhaled a shuddering breath. "Do you know...what I regret the most? That...that I..." Helen lost the fight. "I never got to tell her how much I loved her. How she was my world." Tears slid down her cheeks as Helen looked despairingly at him before closing her eyes.

Nikola looked at her sadly. Cupping her face gently, he brushed away Helen's tears. He had never been particularly good at comforting anyone, women most especially, but Helen was in his heart. With her, it was as if the people they presented themselves to the world vanished and they transformed. It wasn't Nikola Tesla and Helen Magnus; it was simply two closely-bonded friends, a man comforting the woman he loved. "She knew that, Helen. She always knew that." He leaned his forehead against her as silent tears fell from her lashes. "You never had to tell her."

His quiet words, firm in their belief, quieted Helen's tears. She remembered the look in Ashley's face in the seconds before she had sacrificed herself.

There had been regret. Realization and sadness before determination took over to make the sacrifice to save her mother. Ashley's blue eyes had said: I'm sorry, I love you, and I have to do this.

Ashley had loved her mother enough to save her by giving up her own life. Helen knew she would have done the same. Like mother, like daughter; bound together by love and living with the same principles.

Nos must amitto vivo en. We must let go. To live on. If she had died, Helen would never want Ashley to feel trapped in guilt and loss – the same could be said about Ashley never wanting that for her mother.

Helen would live, for her daughter.

Taking a deep breath, Helen felt the heartache recede, but never completely vanish. She opened her eyes to stare directly into Nikola's own.

His thumbs stroked her wet cheeks and unconsciously, her eyes flicked to his lips, once, twice. Nikola followed her progress, unblinking, letting her make the next move, whatever it might be. He knew what his heart wanted.

Hesitantly, with shallow breaths, Helen closed the distance between them. Nikola continued to stroke her cheeks, while his heart pounded.

Their lips met in a soft kiss. It was sweet. It was gentle. Helen sought comfort in Nikola's heated lips and Nikola could never deny the woman he loved anything, certainly not this.

Slow, sensual movements dictated their lips as their breaths intermingled in this new situation. That kiss in Rome was a stolen one by Nikola, leaving Helen surprised. But this, this was different. Their lips tangled with the other, and the heady feelings it invoked were savored and left their insides quivering.

When she pulled away, Helen's eyes were wide. As if she had just realized what she done. Remorse flowed through her at the thought of using Nikola to take away her pain.

Helen's mouth opened to apologize, when Nikola covered her mouth.

"Don't." His voice was husky. "Don't apologize for that." Nikola smiled at her with tender eyes. "You needed it. And I was glad to offer. Don't apologize, and don't regret it. I rather enjoyed your lips on mine."

Sensing the conflict in her, Nikola took the finger he used to silence her and trailed it along her jawline. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Helen, I am going to take a shower to wash off this fragrant sunscreen you subjected on me." He forced a light grin onto his face, squeezed her waist, and stood up.

As soon as his back was turned, the grin fell and Nikola suppressed the need to clench his hands. Helen needed time, but these past few days, the fleeting touches, and now that kiss...

It killed him to walk away from her.

* * *

Helen sought refuge in the garden near the pool.

Donning on a dark green sun dress with a black cardigan, she walked around in circles on the grass. Night fell and Helen wrapped her arms around herself, stuck in her mind. Questions repeated themselves in her mind.

Why had she kissed Nikola?

Was it because she needed to feeling something other than sadness and regret?

But had she really kissed Nikola to take away her guilt? Well, no, Helen had just finished accepting Ashley's passing. Which meant...Helen inhaled thoughtfully. Which meant, that the only reason she had kissed Nikola was because she had _wanted_ to kiss him.

Huh.

Now all Helen had to was figure out what to do next. Fighting the inner politics of her Sanctuary network was easier than this.

She turned to head back to the house when her arm erupted in burning pain. So sharp and sudden, Helen cried out, falling to the ground in pain.

Looking down, shock filtered into Helen's mind. A soft, precise thud of something penetrating the grass inches away from her head confirmed what she was seeing and Helen instinctively rolled to hide behind a bush.

Someone was shooting at her.

Her left arm didn't feel shattered, and relief swamped her to see in the dim darkness that a bullet had grazed her skin. Still, it burned like hell and her cardigan soaked up the blood.

Someone was in her villa, and they were trying to kill her.

Nikola was too far away to call for, not that she would. Nikola was mortal again, and could no longer brazenly take a walk when there were bullets flying about. She rolled into a crouch.

The house was minutes away.

Helen began to run.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: A long chap for you readers, since I'm going to be pretty busy this week. Enjoy and thanks for reading! Please review! :D

* * *

Chocolate.

Nikola snapped off a piece from the bar and studied it.

Smelling it like a fine wine in order to prime the tongue for the flavor for a moment, he placed it in his mouth, not chewing, but slowly letting it melt from the heat of his mouth and it flowed evenly in a medium layer, not too thick or light, and Nikola observed the taste and texture. He closed his eyes in bliss. It had been a long time since Nikola had tasted chocolate and judging by the fine silky texture of the piece lingering in his mouth, Helen bought nothing but the best.

Reaching for another piece, Nikola glanced out the window from the kitchen and noted with a heavy heart that night had fallen and he had not seen a single sign of Helen. A cynical part of him actually wondered if she had run away.

Helen had always kept her emotions close; at least, those that involved her heart. The mess with John's madness certainly took her for a ride.

And Nikola supposed that his own questionable actions prevented Helen from taking him seriously, but he thought that he had shown he did love her over the last couple of days. And there had always, _always_ been an undercurrent to their friendship that hinted at the possibility of turning their relationship into an intimate one. Nikola shook his head. Even he, with his head wrapped up in inventions and vampires, had recognized it. Helen had remained blissfully oblivious.

And now this. Nikola knew Helen was out there, thinking. She was always thinking. Analyzing and studying.

He looked at the half-eaten chocolate bar. Perhaps it was time he stopped her from thinking. Nikola was always a kind of driven, spontaneous man, a 'well, let's see where this takes us' kind of person. He knew that he and Helen would be great together, if his fantasies were anything to go by. They'd managed to live these past few days in perfect harmony, why stop now?

He grabbed the chocolate and went in search of Helen.

Victorian sensibilities, be damned. English proprieties too. He wasn't English. Even without the vampire genes in him, Nikola came from a passionate people.

And now that he wasn't immortal anymore, Nikola wasn't going to waste anymore time on Helen's thinking.

He loved her. And she...well, she had to be feeling something pretty strongly for him from what he had seen.

Nikola strode through the villa, searching for Helen. The chocolate would only help matters too, if Helen didn't realize that he had slowly eaten her entire stash.

Through the library, past the den, into the music room, sweeping into the lounge, Nikola searched only to drop the chocolate and reach for a disheveled Helen as she burst through the French doors of the lounge, panting and bleeding.

"We've got company," she gasped and Nikola had no need for vampire hearing to feel her heart racing. "We...have to go, now." She struggled in his arms to stand.

"Your arm..." The sight of her blood-soaked cardigan worried him.

A bullet pierced a window.

The two ducked and ran to the hall, flattening themselves against the wall.

"This person's really after you. Well, what did you do?" Nikola asked, reminiscent of when he had tricked her down in the catacombs of Rome.

"Me? I didn't do anything. Perhaps this time, they're after you. Again," Helen snapped, wincing as she clutched her bleeding arm.

Concern filtered into his eyes as Nikola spotted blood trickling down Helen's arm, always an unpleasant sight for him. "We have to fix that soon."

"There's a first aid kit in the kitchen. But we have to hurry. We need to leave here."

Nikola was sarcastic. "Helen, I highly doubt the people with the guns trained on the house outside are going to let us walk calmly to our cars."

Pushing herself off the wall, Helen began striding down the hall. "Grab your things and then head to my room and get my duffel. Luckily, I haven't unpacked much. I'll meet you in the wine cellar."

The two exchanged long glances and then darted off in opposite directions.

It seemed the outside world had found them instead.

Helen bit her lip as she raced to the kitchen, stopping at the front door to activate the security panel. Rapidly her mind went in a dozen directions, wondering how much time they had, if there was anything sensitive in the house, was there more than one person, was it indeed the Cabal...

Grabbing the kit, barely noticing the pile of her favorite chocolate lying on the counter, Helen snatched the phone on the wall. It was dead and she swore.

Whomever she was up against, really didn't want her calling for help.

Helen dropped the phone, hearing it smack against the wall, and ran for the cellar, nearly crashing into Nikola, laden with their duffel bags.

"The phone's not working." They descended into the cellar.

"How sadistic," Nikola noted. The loss of his vampirism did nothing to stem the thought of his invincibility. He'd practiced his new abilities; he knew he could stop bullets. But the situation was against him. He had no idea the numbers they were against, what they were capable of, and there was Helen's life at stake. Nikola was not going to take a chance with that. "Out here, seemingly alone, and cut off from help...they really wanted to play with you, Helen. That's even more dangerously disturbing than before."

"Nikola!" Helen scowled. "I'll thank you to stop painting pictures in my head." She shook her head despairingly. Some things about Nikola never changed. Striding over to a wine rack, Helen unhooked a latch and the rack swung easily away from the stone wall. Reaching to push a small indentation, the wall made a grinding noise and dust and cobwebs fell.

"You have hidden passageways in your villa?" Nikola peered down the cold and dark stone walkway. "If Tiny Tim were here, he would probably say that you live your life eerily like a movie."

"It came with the place." An alarm started beeping, loud enough to wake a sleeping person. Helen hurried in, pulled the wine rack to the wall, and pressed a button to slide the wall shut. "That was the security system I reactivated. They're in the house."

"Will the police come?" Flicking on a switch, there was the sound of electricity generating and a string of cobwebbed bulbs suspended in a line along the ceiling lit up. One or two didn't. Nikola caught Helen giving him a look. "Your expression says not. And where, adventurous woman of my life, does this lead then?"

"Away." Helen's voice was pained.

Nikola stopped. "Helen, you should let me take care of your arm."

"It's only a flesh wound. The bullet grazed my arm, that's all."

"It still needs to be bandaged," Nikola insisted, blowing out a breath. "Stop being reckless, Helen." The two had a staring contest until Helen relented and handed him the bag with the first-aid kit.

Gingerly peeling away her ruined cardigan, Nikola inspected the wound, relieved to find that it was only minor. But his blue-gray eyes flashed worry in the poorly lit tunnel. Another few inches to the right, and it would have been anything but minor. Something shook inside him. He could have lost her tonight. If she hadn't moved...Nikola would be stumbling onto her body lying on the grass far too late to even save her.

He was gentle in cleaning and bandaging her arm, but inside, he seethed with self-disgust and anger. Nikola had come here to help cheer her up, and she could have been killed while he was inside, enjoying the rest of her chocolate stash.

Nikola was also angry that someone up there just couldn't leave Helen alone. She came here to grieve, instead she was getting shot at. He wanted to find whoever was behind this and tear them apart. If he was still part-vampire, he could have. If he was part-vampire, he would be out hunting the gunman without consequence. If he was still part-vampire, there would have been no need to be running for their lives.

But he wasn't. Not anymore.

And Nikola felt inadequate.

So, here he was, bandaging Helen's arm, fleeing alongside her, and determined not to have any more harm come to her. Nikola stepped back and handed her small duffel back to her. "Shall we continue our escape, fair lady?"

Hefting her bag onto her shoulder, the two continued down the tunnel, silent and lost in their thoughts. Helen's mind was formulating a plan, whilst trying to determine who was after her.

Nikola too, was thinking about their unseen foe, but also taking the opportunity to admire Helen's bare legs. The first time he'd seen them was in the early 1900s when Helen had looked him up in New York. She had been establishing a Sanctuary a few miles from the city and dropped in to view a demonstration of his.

Nikola remembered being speechless for a minute as he coaxed viewers to come close despite his Tesla coil emitting electricity everywhere. Helen, stylish and feminine, had gracefully walked straight up to the stage without fear. Her blue eyes twinkling and her smile warm and bright.

Her legs peeked out from a sedate purple dress and her hair was still blonde, perfectly styled curls draping over her shoulders. It had been his best demonstration yet.

They approached a set of wide stone steps leading up. to a metal trap door. Helen unhooked a latch and together the two pushed upwards, eventually bursting into night air.

"You know," Nikola began as he climbed up the stone steps and gingerly stepped out of the trap door to see nothing but trees around him. "This is feeling oddly reminiscent of my days of being hunted in the 40's." He helped Helen closed the door and cover it with leaves from the forest floor. "And I always wondered why you were so calm during those times."

"Come on, we're only minutes from a village near here. Hopefully, by the time our would-be killer finishes searching my house - "

"Your eleven bedroom villa," Nikola interjected, raising his hands in innocence when Helen shot him a glance. "With a personal chapel. Why would you need that anyway, Helen? I thought you disliked the church."

"Nikola, focus please." Helen could feel her arm throbbing with pain. "When we get to the village, we can hopefully get a ride to the town a few kilometers away."

He remained silent and followed Helen's direction, marveling at the woman in front of him. Helen had always had the gift of staying calm and in control at any time. Oh, Nikola had seen her frustrated, but the only time he had seen her lose her temper was a year ago. When they had walked into the Cabal warehouse and saw first-hand what they had done to her daughter.

Leaves crunched under their feet as they moved among the trees. The forest was thick and its leafy canopy allowed trails of moonlight to leak through.

It was rather amazing to the two of them to realize that only this morning everything had been fine, and now, less than twenty-four hours later, they were fleeing on foot.

It was only when Helen deemed them far enough away that she asked a question she'd been wanting to ask. "How _did_ you find me, Nikola?" Careful not to jostle her injured arm, her eyes flitted over his features in the dim light.

Keeping his eyes on the ground and mentally lamenting his ruined shoes, Nikola nevertheless felt Helen's eyes on him. "Like I said, Helen. It wasn't hard. I already knew you had a villa. When I did a search, the name you had it under popped out at me. Yalena, is a Russian variant of the name Helen, and Heathering..."

"Was my mother's maiden name,"Helen finished off softly. Her short smile flashed in the moonlit darkness. "I suppose that's what I get for being sentimental."

Nikola glanced at her, but said nothing. He knew that the trouble heading their way was none of his doing. So once again, Helen had been placed in the line of fire, and her life was in danger. His hands momentarily tightened on his bag. Her Sanctuaries were the problem. They were created with the good intentions of Helen's caring heart, but with its expansion, Helen's enemies multiplied.

The Cabal. Independent Abnormal bounty hunters and other like-minded individuals. And even the people running her Sanctuaries were after her; politically, of course. They were more dangerous, in his opinion; the Cabal wanted to kill her, her staff wanted to tear away her dream and leave her shut out and powerless. The latter was worse.

Nikola was not naive to believe that Helen didn't know how to handle herself, but he knew, he had _seen_, since those early days that Helen rarely played dirty. Making threats and then backing them up was not Helen's forte. She gave people too much leeway, too much leverage. He shook his head mentally.

And this is what she got. Continually getting shot at or losing people held hostage against her.

It angered him like very little else.

Too many people had stepped on the woman he loved. And there was nothing he could do about it. Not that he couldn't, because Nikola had no problem taking anyone out, but Helen would never forgive him if he did.

Her caring heart that made her enemies was what stopped him.

Was it any wonder this woman sitting beside him frustrated him?

"We need to get to a sanctuary," Helen spoke up. "I need to find out what's going on and there's no place safer." She looked over at Nikola, swearing she had heard him snort softly. "Unfortunately, the closest one is London."

"Wonderful," he said dryly.

"It's simple, really. All we need is to get to the nearest airport, which is Marseilles. From there, England." Not for the first time, Helen cursed herself for leaving her cell behind, but at the time, all she wanted was to leave.

Nikola had noticed a trend in Helen's 'simple' plans. They rapidly became not so simple.

"Once we get to the town, we should be able to rent a car or take a train," Helen continued. "I'll feel better when we're in a large city. We'll be able to blend in more there."

They came to a fallen log of an old tree blocking their path. Flinging their bags over, Nikola wrapped his arm around Helen's waist. Her grimace of pain silence the teasing lewd remark on his tongue.

"Traipsing through the French woods. How romantic." Holding onto Helen's waist, he helped her over. They picked up their bags again.

"You forgot the possibility of an unknown assassin hunting us in said woods with a gun." Helen cursed as her ankle twisted in her flimsy wedge. "I fail to see this as romantic."

Nikola gave a mock-sigh. "So hard to please, Helen. Is it any wonder that you drive me crazy?"

Helen smiled as she said in a hushed voice, "Actually, I recall a time at Oxford where I was having a particularly horrid day and hid in a cemetery to cry my frustration. And then a young man, my only friend at the time, found me and surprised me with a picnic of pastries and tea he'd stolen from the dining hall."

"Lunch amidst the gravestones." Nikola smiled too as he remembered. "You call that romantic?"

"I actually thought it was the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me."

Looking up through the trees to the moon above, Nikola said in an uncharacteristic voice, "You were my only friend then, too. The only one who understood me." Nikola did not look upon those days with happiness, save for the moments when it had been just Helen and himself. Before the formation of The Five, before Druitt's pursuit of her. Nikola remembered the pang in his heart when he saw what was happening. The sadness washing over him to realize that he would have to share Helen with others, that the treasure of her inner light was no longer his alone to bathe in. It got even worse when Helen began to bestow her affection upon John. And Nikola retreated into himself, occupying his time with his inventions and his vampiric gift, and for the longest time, he thought himself satisfied.

Satisfied, if not happy.

His years in America had made him even more bitter. People called him mad behind his back and pitied him to his face. Nikola felt bereft, back to being misunderstood.

It took seeing Helen as she helped him fake his death and going underground to work in solitude without having to worry about the outside world to bring some semblance of his arrogant self back.

It was also then that all the feelings he'd buried for Helen came rushing back and the innocent dreams Nikola had dreamt of her at Oxford of the two of them being together warped into dreams of passion and love and longing that distracted him at all times. Nikola had blamed it on the loose times in those years.

The two continued walking through the forest, in the direction of the lights, and Nikola thought it was actually pretty romantic, sans the hit-man at their back and Helen's injured arm. The two of them taking a stroll, reminiscing about the past.

He looked sideways at her and even in the moonlight, her face caused his heart to lurch. She still had that light within her; it flowed through her skin and lit up her eyes. A smile, unbidden, lifted his lips. He recalled the first time he saw Helen. Nikola would never tell her that she had struck him speechless as she hurried into one of his university lectures for the first time, and that he'd never been so thankful that he hadn't skipped in favor of a nap.

Helen gave a laugh and said quietly, "Remember that time when I had you help me catch that feline Abnormal on campus? We trapped it in the back of the museum." She laughed again.

Nikola grumbled. "That thing almost crushed me to death. I thought it was a cat, _you_ _told_ _me_ it was nothing but a cat." He scowled at her. "You didn't tell me it could shift into the size of a lion and potentially crush my lungs."

Helen's eyes laughed at him. "I apologized! But thank you, Nikola, you didn't have to help me."

"I'd have done anything for you." His voice was quiet. Nikola looked away.

The laughter left Helen's eyes and bit her lip, staring forward. His words brought back his confession in Rome. She had been stunned then, unsure of whether to believe him, but his actions since then had proven nothing to the contrary. And then Nikola had shown up out of nowhere, just because he knew she would need someone during this time. Her emotions ran rampant in his presence; Helen could not deny that she was feeling something for Nikola. Knowing that he claimed to love her made her shiver.

"It's fine," Nikola added, in the ensuing silence. "I never gave you any indication of how I felt. First because you were practically my only friend and I didn't want to make things awkward, and then, well, John stepped in." Nikola shifted his bag to his other hand, using the movement to distract from the lump that formed in his throat. He never liked talking seriously about the past; it brought up too many painful emotions. "I went to America and you stayed in London, and then all over the world."

"I was happy to see you in the 40's. We kept in touch, but barely," Helen said softly. "It suddenly hit me how much I'd missed you and how much it hurt to see how our friendship had drifted apart. And then you left again." She paused and this time, it was Helen who looked away away. "The next time I saw you was in Rome, where you tried to kill me."

Nikola winced. It seemed tonight's harrowing adventure was bringing out introspections and grievances about each other. Nikola supposed that under the moonlight, in the illuminated darkness, with no distractions gave them time to think. He sighed heavily. "Helen..." Nikola reached out and took her hand, stopping her and squeezing it to bring her eyes to his, wanting her to see the honest truth in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't have done it, I swear to you. I was just..." he sighed again, shoulders slumping. "I was just angry. I...I'm sorry."

"And the confession? Did you mean that?" She searched his eyes, holding her breath and knowing that her own growing feelings hinged on his answer.

"You know I did." Nikola answered without hesitation and he gave a little rueful smile. "Honestly, I thought that I could slip it in there and you wouldn't catch it. I had wanted to tell you for so long, but it's like you said, we barely kept in touch." His thumb rubbed against her hand.

Without realizing, Helen released the breath she was holding. His mask had dropped and she was looking at a vulnerable Nikola. Slowly, a shy smile lifted her lips. "Good." Helen followed her reply with a decisive nod.

"Good?" Nikola looked at her with confusion that melted away as Helen squeezed his hand and smiled brilliantly at him.

"Good." She took a deep breath and pulled him to continue walking. "Come on, we're nearly there."

Nikola followed, their hands still clasped together, but the air around them felt lighter. For all the genius that he was, Nikola had a feeling that something had changed in Helen, but he had no idea what. He shrugged.

He'd take whatever it was, if it kept Helen smiling like that.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Best. Weekend. Ever. Four days, anyway (I skivved off work, shh, don't tell! =p) to enjoy my friend's bachelorette and now a quick post and I'm off for a birthday! I hope everyone's enjoying this story! Read, review, enjoy! =D

* * *

Chapter Four

"Ah, civilization, sort of." Nikola wrinkled his nose at the suburban village. He could never imagine living in a place like this. It lacked something. Besides a decent wine shop.

It was still night, late, and they had literally walked out of the woods into the small village.

Nikola looked dubious. "Helen, are you sure there's a hotel here?"

"In places like this, there are usually guest houses, or gités, instead of hotels. I remember passing by some on the west side of the village when I bought stuff at the pharmacy. Hopefully, someone will still be up."

Half an hour later, plodding up a cobbled road, Helen felt tired. She imagined Nikola felt the same; neither of them had been prepared for this, despite past intimate experiences with fleeing. The night was passing into the early morning hours as they finally reached a wooden carved sign advertising guest houses for rent. Hopefully, the owners would have one available.

"If anyone asks, we're tourists and our car ran out of gas."

Nikola yawned, a sight that surprised her, and said nothing. He was probably using all his energy to stay awake and walking. A vast difference from when he had been part-vampire and never really slept.

Turning onto a plot of land that had a series of separated cottages, Helen trudged up to the main house and taking a deep breath, knocked loudly on the door.

Nikola seemed content to let her do all the work.

Knocking again, louder this time, Helen winced. Her Victorian sensibilities irking at the rudeness of her gesture.

A man in his late sixties poked his head out with an angry scowl on his face. In a displeased voice, he asked Helen what she wanted at so late an hour. Behind him, she could make out a woman, his wife, standing in a robe and nightdress, standing curiously .

"I am so sorry for waking you, sir, ma'am, but we desperately need some help. You see, we're tourists who were driving to Aix-en-Provence when our car broke down on the side of the road. We didn't know if anyone would pass us and our cell phone died. We've been walking through the woods since early evening yesterday and were hoping for the use of one of your guest houses. We can pay extra for inconveniencing you. Please." Helen looked pleadingly at the man and his wife.

The man looked suspicious, not at her, but at Nikola, and Helen supposed that his all-black attire and his silence did look strange. At least they didn't look like ruffians. Nikola's tailored pants and rumpled dress shirt, combined with Helen's dress apparently convinced the wife to enter the conversation.

She shouldered her husband out of the way and looked sympathetic at their obviously tired faces.

Helen kept an apologetic smile under her disheveled appearance.

The woman's hands fluttered as she spoke rapid-fire French. Her husband continued to eye Nikola's black clothes distrustfully.

Seeing this and stepping up, Nikola placed a hand on Helen's back and flashed his charming grin, smoothly speaking perfect French. "Please, if it isn't too much trouble? My fiancée is understandably tired and injured as well. We apologize for the inconvenience, and will willingly pay extra for the trouble." He laid his other hand on Helen's shoulder, looking down at her affectionately. "I'm sure this was not what she was expecting when I told her we were going to France for our anniversary."

Helen, bordering on desperation, tried not to react. She leaned against him without protest and merely hid her left hand.

The woman produced even more exclamations of apology and sympathy, looking at Helen's bandaged arm before barking to her husband and gesturing. Turning to them, she explained that her husband would at once show them to a guest house and call a doctor.

Helen interrupted with the explanation that she herself was doctor and that all she needed was rest. But she thanked the woman sincerely and continued to lean on Nikola as they followed the woman's husband who held a pair of keys in his hand.

"I didn't know you could speak French," Helen observed quietly, clutching her bag.

"I'd do anything to impress you, my dear fiancée," Nikola murmured in French. "For you hold my heart in your slender hands."

Helen's heart skipped a beat and she glanced up at him in his loose embrace. Somehow she knew he wasn't joking around when he said that.

They encountered a small problem once inside the guest-house that had Nikola suggestively smirking at her, but was ruined by a small yawn.

"You should take the bed," Helen suggested, watching him take off his jacket. Averting her eyes, she busied herself. "I'll keep watch." Anticipating his protest, Helen continued, "You're tired, Nikola. And as much as I know you hate the word, you're mortal now, and your body needs the rest. I can go longer than you." That infuriating smirk made another appearance. "Without sleep, Nikola, I meant sleep!"

"Pity." Nikola glanced at his hands and hurried into the bathroom while Helen checked out the rest of the cottage. Nikola was settling into the bed when she returned and she took her turn in the bathroom. By the time Helen emerged, the former part-vampire was fast asleep, stretched out and tangled in the blankets.

Placing her gun within reach, Helen delicately perched on the other side Nikola left free for her and stretched out her legs, back against the headboard.

Rolling her head on the headboard, Helen gazed at Nikola, sleeping peacefully mere inches away from her. She had never this opportunity before, to simply watch him unguarded. Her breath caught. He was so beautiful.

The conversation in the woods replayed in her mind. Unbidden, a smile came to Helen's lips. Nikola loved her, truly; since that day in Rome, Helen had always wondered, whether he was telling her the truth or merely manipulating her. But he had confirmed it, only a few short hours ago, and Nikola never lied to her.

He loved her, and Helen was pleasantly surprised at how happy and light she felt to know that. Every emotion she had felt these last few days settled into one content ball inside, warming her.

Helen took a small breath, gazing at him. Lowering her face, Helen's eyes searched his face for any movement before gently brushing her lips on his in a feathery touch.

The resolved feeling in her heart grew stronger and Helen could admit it now; could now name the feeling that swirled around in the pit of her stomach around Nikola.

Her heart tightened. Helen was irrevocably, irreversibly in love with Nikola Tesla.

Pulling away, Helen smiled brilliantly down at the sleeping man, marveling at how clear her world had become. She settled back against the cushions, keeping watch over the man she loved as he slept.

Whatever happened in the future, she was glad he was there, at that moment, with her.

* * *

The next morning found them, refreshed and enjoying breakfast in a small diner.

"Not exactly my usual fare," Nikola grumbled in English, but his stomach rumbling dictated that he pick up the croissant and eat the food in front of him. He smirked lightly as across from him, Helen looked down at her tea in dismay. It obviously was not how she preferred it. Her British snobbery shone through in the most adorable way, he thought.

The basket of fruit along with slices of French bread sat on the table along with crocks of jam and butter. And despite looking slightly tired, Nikola could only imagine that he and Helen were taking a tour across France. A part of him kind of relished this adventure they were having. Just him and Helen in this vast world.

Helen looked worried. "I don't think this place has a car rental." She looked outside the window in the general direction of her villa before glancing around the small café.

Cleaning his fingers on a paper napkin, Nikola took a sip of his coffee. "Helen," he soothed. "Relax."

She shot him a look designed to pierce lasers into flesh, but Nikola saw the worry in her eyes. He reached out and squeezed her hand before also glancing around. "Wait here." Nikola got up, dropped a kiss on Helen's head, and walked over to a waitress manning the counter.

Helen watched, with no appetite, despite not having eaten since yesterday's lunch, as Nikola shoved his hands into his black dress pants and...flirted? Her eyes narrowed as the girl blushed at Nikola's grin, too far away to make out their words.

While not at his best, Nikola still cut a dashing figure in black, looking as if he belonged in Paris rather than a small village. The girl made a gasping sound and her eyes darted to Helen, who wondered what absurd story Nikola had concocted. She sat, twisted in her seat, as Nikola spoke before bowing slightly and gesturing to Helen.

The blonde waitress blushed again, and stepped out from behind the counter. The two walked over to a bewildered Helen and Nikola grinned charmingly. Helen could see how the girl had been taken in.

"Love," he spoke in that perfect French of his. "This is Emilie. I explained our situation to her and she has so graciously volunteered to drive us herself to town."

Our situation? Helen hid her confusion and smiled warmly at the girl. "It's lovely to meet you."

"You as well." The girl's French was friendly and light. "When your fiancé told me that you had been tricked by a man posing as a travel agent and that he'd stranded you here, stealing most of your belongings, I was shocked!" She laid a hand on her chest in sympathy. "But to also steal your engagement ring as well. It is so sad!"

Helen almost dropped her jaw and forced herself not to glance into Nikola's mischievously sparkling eyes. "Oh...yes, dreadful thing to have happened." She collected herself. "I can honestly say that nothing lately has gone as I expected."

"Your fiancé tells me that you are looking for a rental car." Emilie shook her head, the sun through the window shining on her hair. "There is none in the village, most people around here ride bikes to get around, but I can borrow my mother's car. She works in town, but is off today. It is the least I can do in making your trip home easier. I just can't believe someone would do that to you!"

Nikola gave a smirk that only Helen caught and despite her disapproval at his manipulative lie, Helen couldn't deny that it got them exactly what they needed. Helen looked sincerely at Emilie. "Thank you so much for your help, Emilie. It is truly appreciated. We'd be willing to pay you for your troubles." Gratitude shone in her eyes as she stressed her next words. "You have no idea how much we appreciate this."

Smiling widely, Emilie waved away her offer. "The town is only about twenty minutes drive away. I get off at noon, and I can drive you there. Is that all right?"

"It will be perfect," Nikola broke in, amused at Helen's own charming attitude to make up for his duplicity. She had no idea of the power of her warm smile. It was probably that, combined with her strong determination, that coaxed so many together to create her Sanctuary network. "It will give us time to buy what that crook stole from us." He sighed melodramatically. "It is not so much my stuff that I care about, but my fiancée's. It burns me to think of him going through her belongings."

Emilie near swooned at his chivalrous attitude, while Helen wanted desperately to roll her eyes.

"Please sit, and finish your breakfast. Buy what you need and then we shall meet here at noon, yes?" Emilie cheeks turned pink as Nikola bowed once again before she walked off and was soon accosted by the other waitresses.

Re-taking his seat, Nikola nonchalantly reached for his coffee.

"Poor girl. Any more of that 'noble' attitude of yours, and she would have gladly married you without realizing that everything you just told her was a lie," Helen said quietly in English and buttered her bread.

Nikola raised his eyebrows at her remark. "Jealous, love?"

A smile curved her lips. "No, merely pitying." She looked at him. "But no real harm done, and you did solve our problem."

"Genius," he reminded her arrogantly.

The village held only vintage stores, independent clothing shops, and certainly none that boasted men's tailored wear. It was to one of the former that Helen dragged Nikola to, citing that he was already standing out.

To which he proclaimed, "I can't help it if people want to admire me. It's something I've had to live with my whole life." He completely ignored the fact that none of the glances angled toward him were actually admiring.

Once in the store, Helen shoved a pair of jeans and a shirt at him. "Change, please. We need to blend in."

Nikola looked completely affronted at the clothes in his arms. He stood there for a moment before giving up this fight in the face of logic. He had noticed the looks and if their would-be killer was searching for them, questioning the village folk would guarantee being found. He leered at Helen. "Does this mean I get to choose what you wear, Helen?"

Helen looked teasingly at him, arms full of clothes already. "If it were up to you, I'd probably not be wearing a single stitch," she said quietly.

"While that is a tantalizing picture, I wouldn't do that." Nikola ran his eyes down Helen's body.

"Perhaps a few strategically placed scraps, here and there..."

Helen couldn't help but laugh, brushing past him on her way to the change-room, nodding a friendly hello to the old woman who owned the shop.

Ducking into change-rooms, the two busied themselves.

"You know, if you need any help in there, I'll be glad to lend a hand, or two. My lips as well." Nikola's saucy smile was in his voice. "To help put clothes on, or take them off..."

"I think I can handle it, Nikola, but thank you for your generous offer," Helen shot back sarcastically. The next moment, she winced as she stretched her injured arm too far.

Moments later, Helen stepped from behind the curtain in fitted black jeans and a sunshine yellow tank top to stop in her tracks at the sight of Nikola, waiting for her. His legs were loosely defined in dark blue jeans and a dark blue dress shirt with short sleeves. No sign of any silk, tailoring, a tie, or cravat.

"Certainly not at my best," Nikola grumbled, feeling oddly awkward under Helen's stare.

A smile played on her lips. "On the contrary, you look very handsome, despite whatever you wear."

Blue-gray eyes shot up to her face to see her looking appreciatively at him and a warm feeling inside him prompted him to smirk. "Natural talent, I suppose."

He stepped closer. "And you, Helen, I've never seen you bare so much skin in the past few days." Nikola reached out a finger and softly trailed it up one arm, feeling Helen's goosebumps, before tangling in a curl. "You look beautiful."

They stared at each other, hearts hammering.

"You know," Helen whispered, looking into his eyes. "If there was ever a moment you wanted to kiss me without repercussion, now would be the perfect time."

Nikola's breath stopped. Helen merely stood there, waiting and with a hint of a smile. Shaking his head slowly, he murmured, "You have no idea how impossible this feels, but," he dipped his eyes to her lips, "even if this is a dream, I'll take it." His finger slipped from her curl to tip her chin up, and Nikola's lips fluttered against Helen's.

In a cramped changing room, the world exploded.

It was a hallmark among their first kisses, for this kiss was neither taken by surprise nor peppered with mixed feelings, and utterly, wholeheartedly reciprocated by both of them.

Nikola felt alive again. Energy he could have sworn was more sizzling than electricity surged through his veins and he pressed his lips harder, looping his arms tight around her.

Helen felt free. She soared, unburdened and strong. Whatever obstacles in her way that threatened to bring her down, toppled as easily as wooden blocks, with Nikola there with her.

Nikola crushed Helen's body to his when he felt her tongue sweep across his lips, and he eagerly welcomed her, not daring to believe this was real. His tongue, a mischievous entity like its owner, tangled with hers and relished in the breathy moan Helen gave off. It was slick, warm, and fiery.

Helen ran her hands down Nikola's back, raking her nails over his shirt, before tearing away for air.

"Well," Nikola caught his breath. "Have you finally admitted to falling for me, Helen?" He kept his arms around her.

"Actually, it was the jeans. Can't resist a man in them, really." She gave a tinkling laugh before stepping out of his arms and heading to the counter.

The old woman rang up their purchases, including the ones they wore.

"These too." Helen looked at the handful of cotton dresses Nikola had placed on the counter in askance, but he merely smiled placidly at her. "You have killer legs." This he whispered in French.

The old saleswoman smiled at the two, so obviously in love, and so obviously mistaking Helen's glare of irritation for mock-chiding.

Arms with an extra duffel bag each, newly-bought, the two made their way back to the café at noon to see Emilie in front, standing in front of a car. "Ready to go?"

The two nodded and got into the backseat of the car. Helen took one look around to see if anyone watched them. The last thing she wanted was for this young woman to get caught up in the trouble following them.

The short drive was peppered with Emilie's questions. "How did you two meet?"

"In university. We shared some classes together. Helen told me time and again how she was just drawn to me." Nikola barely grunted as Helen's elbow dug into his ribcage. "Our connection was magnetic, to say the least. And when I saw her, I was simply stunned by her beauty. It was love at first sight for me," he whispered conspiratorially in a loud voice to Emilie.

The teenage girl's heart swooned, and Helen glanced out the window, smiling resignedly. There was no stopping Nikola as he continued to weave the story of their 'great love' as he proclaimed it, and honestly, there was a part of her that wished that everything he was saying was true.

She settled back, took Nikola's hand, ignoring his pause and glance at her, and listened to their conversation.

Hoping, but knowing that their troubles were far from over.

* * *

Seriously, what is up with these disappearing page-breaks? :(


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Some sauciness. Some violence. All good! Read, review, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Five

"Another system breach? What information was taken this time?" Luka Ivanov, head of the Moscow Sanctuary, barked in Russian. He slammed a fist onto his desk. While not an Abnormal himself, his dark eyes seemed to crackle flames in his anger.

Ivan Alekseev stood rigidly. "The names of various staff, sir. Not just the ones working here, but others in other Sanctuaries."

Luka ran a hand down his face and sank heavily into his chair. "I don't understand how they are doing this. Have you instructed the technicians to update the security firewalls?" he asked his assistant. He hadn't slept in three days, trying to solve and contain the recent problems plaguing his Sanctuary.

Ivan nodded. He hesitated slightly as he inquired, "Sir, are you going to report this to the other Heads? This is the third breach in a month. Protocol dictates that - "

"I know what protocol dictates! Don't try to lecture me, boy!" Luka roared and the veins in his neck threatened to burst. "Do you think I want to give that little weasel Wexford and his cohorts rope to hang me with? The little upstart lets a little power go to his head." Luka didn't mind a little political posturing, but Wexford walked as if the entire Sanctuary network was beholden onto him. The Abnormal nipped at Magnus' heels like a piranha. "It must be someone on the inside," he muttered to himself. "But who?" Luka looked up at Ivan. "Did you find out anything?"

The twenty-eight year old man was an Abnormal with a minor talent for telepathy. Not good enough to reach in and search out specific thoughts or to join a Triad, but enough to skim surface thoughts if they were 'loud' enough. Ivan shook his head.

A male scream suddenly erupted from the corridor.

Both men exchanged glances and Luka grabbed a gun from desk, tossing another to Ivan. They rushed out of his office to see Anja, a female scientist, rushing toward them from down the hall.

"Anja! What is go -" Luka yelled, only to cut himself off as a fast spray of six-inch needle-sharp quills shot into her back, digging in and injecting a healthy dose of poison that laced its tips. Luka stepped back, horrified. He recognized those quills. "Who let Magda out of his cell?"

"I did."

Luka snapped his head to Ivan, pointing the gun he had given him to his head. "Ivan - ?"

A bang echoed in the concrete hall, followed by a thud. With a backwards glance to the Abnormal raging a short distance away, Ivan ran.

* * *

Helen clasped Emilie's hand. "Thank you again, Emilie. You are truly an angel." She smiled.

"It is nothing." The French teenager blushed at the praise. "I am merely helping to turn a bad situation around. Especially for university sweethearts."

"Yes, I've loved her forever." Nikola stood on the curb, holding their bags. "Thank you for your kindness, young lady."

With a final wave, Emilie drove off, back down the road.

"Shall we find ourselves a hotel? I don't know about you, but this newly-changed body of mine is feeling the aches."

Helen hefted her bags. "You mean like the one down there?" She amusedly pointed out a hanging sign down the road. "Losing your senses in your old age, Nikola?"

"Watch it, love," Nikola snapped, but not denying the tiredness in his body. He hated feeling this way. This mortality was like a plague. It also hurt to know that he would age, while his love would not. She would look as beautiful and young as she did now, standing in the French afternoon sunlight.

Sensing his testiness, Helen looped her injured arm delicately around his in apology. "I'm rather exhausted myself. Shall we go?"

There was a brief argument at the inn when Helen had insisted on rooming in a specific room, brushing off the odd looks she received when the owners handed her the key to Room 18. Trudging up the stairs, the two entered their room with Nikola commented, "Only one bed? I'm beginning to think you like sharing a bed with me, Helen. Granted, for the activities I had in mind we'd require at least a king-size." A smirk flashed across his tired face.

Helen mentally rolled her eyes. Even exhausted, Nikola was still his flirtatious self. "We can't stay here long. We need to get to a sanctuary with the resources available to find out just what is going on."

Nikola toppled onto the bed, clothes and all, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Fine, but for now, we rest, yes? You've simply exhausted me, love." He groaned tiredly.

Arching an amused eyebrow, Helen remarked, "Should I be making a worried remark about your stamina, Nikola?" She pulled out a shirt from her small duffel bag.

In one fluid moment, Nikola turned on his side to look at her, propping an elbow up to hold his head. "Oh, you never have need to worry about that, Helen," he said seductively, his eyes becoming hooded. "I literally have decades of fantasies about you to fuel my desire." He raised his eyebrows. "Would you care to test me?"

Helen felt heat pool in her belly and she suppressed the urge to shiver at the sight of Nikola lounging on the bed with eyes smoldering in her direction. Knowing the truth now about how he felt made it almost impossible to treat his lewd remarks as she did before. Before, she thought them as simply that, superficial lewd remarks that were part of Nikola's personality; now, however, Helen knew that Nikola meant every word of what he said to her. In his own way, Nikola had been telling his feelings for her for so long. She just never saw it.

Until now.

Walking over to him, Helen leaned over the edge of the bed to run a finger down his cheek, holding his eyes, before tracing his surprisingly soft lips. "Not just yet, Nikola...But soon," Helen promised, letting him see the emotion in her eyes. She smiled, straightening up. "Right now though, I'm going to indulge in a bath. You should sleep."

Nikola's lips parted and he stared up at her, almost in wonder, before he smirked. "A bath? If I weren't so tired, I would have loved to join you." He flopped back onto the bed, weaving his hands together and placing them behind his head, stretching his body out for her display. "But I'll take lovely visions of you naked and wet in my dreams as a consolation. Think of my hands when you're running soap down and across your fair skin, would you, Helen?"

"Incorrigible prat," Helen muttered, walking away towards the bathroom. Think of his hands? This time, it was impossible for her not to shiver.

Indulging herself in a bath, with the door locked, just in case, Helen emerged from the bathroom, pink and clean, wearing a black tank top and black silk pajama bottoms. Drying her hair with a towel, Helen stood, looking down at the man passed out on the bed. It seemed so surreal that they were there, together in such a situation and yet it felt so right. Not being on the run, but being together. Just her and Nikola.

She smiled down at him. He had taken off his shoes, but that was it. Nikola was sprawled across the blankets, with his face half-mushed against the pillow and his mouth slightly parted. Her heart swelled at the beautiful sight.

Dropping the wet towel on a chair, Helen quietly slid onto the bed and curled into a loose fetal position, facing Nikola. With a hand tucked under her cheek, Helen reached out to tentatively entwine her fingers with his hand, wanting the contact.

Listening to his soft breathing, Helen couldn't help but fall asleep with a smile on her face.

.-.-.-.-.

After more than a century of going without sleep, it was hard to adjust to the momentary disorientation one sometimes got after waking.

He was warm. Nikola's sleepy mind deduced that the reason was the sun's rays shining through the windows opposite the bed.

Easy enough.

It was the soft breathing on his chest, the feeling of an arm tucked against him, and...was that a leg entwined with his? that puzzled him.

A body. There was a body lying next to him and his arm was thrown over it. Nikola had to be forgiven, for his mind was still fuzzy and he slid his hand down a toned back, over the sensuous curve of a hip, down the expanse of a slender thigh -

"Nikola, stop groping me."

Helen.

And a wondrous smirk slowly curved his lips.

Cracking his eyes open, he took in their position. Helen was snuggled in beside him on her side with her face tucked into his shoulder. Her hair splayed on the pillow and she looked all rumpled and delicious. Nikola's heart skipped. Oh, this had to be some sort of dream!

He brought his hand back to her waist and slid a single finger the barest inch under her tank top. Her skin was soft, warm and pliable in the early morning hours. Stroking her skin, Nikola lay there for a moment. How many times had he wished to be in a position like this? Too many to count.

Turning onto his side, Helen made a small noise, but did nothing else. Slowly, Nikola delved his entire hand under Helen's shirt and caressed her back, rubbing light circles that slowly expanded upwards, only to discover Helen was missing a piece of vital clothing most women wore underneath their clothes. She wore no bra. Nikola slammed his eyes shut and groaned silently. Now he knew this was a dream!

He shifted closer, pressing light kisses onto the top of her head, smelling the scented shampoo that Helen's curls still held onto and flattened his palm out, sweeping his hand over her bare back in broad, lazy strokes.

Helen let out a quiet moan that seared itself to parts lower below and pressed closer. He massaged a shoulder and mapped out every slope of her back before delving back to her hip, toying with the waistband of her pants.

"Nikola." Helen's voice was low and drowsy and she pulled away slightly to peer at him with sleepy eyes.

"What?" Nikola's own voice was husky with sleep. "You mean this isn't a dream?" He bent his head to continue his rain of kisses on her face. "Granted," he kissed her nose, "my dream would," lips feathered her cheek, "already have us completely naked," he stopped and looked at her, "but I'll take what I can get." He swooped down and caught Helen's lips in a kiss.

Helen made a surprised noise, but quickly returned the kiss.

Their lips moved over the other's languidly, savoring this rare new moment. Nikola maneuvered his arms around Helen, both his hands moving ardently, and he crushed her to him; her delicate body yielding against the firm hardness of his own.

He slid a leg between her own and Helen breathed his name against his lips. Nikola smiled. He was making good promise in trying to get her to say his name in a tone other than anger. A breathy moan was not quite what he was looking for, but...

"Close enough," he whispered before twisting them over so that he lay dominantly on top of her. He bent to kiss her again when Helen suddenly jerked and inhaled sharply. "Helen?"

"My arm." Her eyes were fully open and awake with the tiniest hint of pain.

Nikola levered himself up, hands supporting his weight on either side of her, and glanced at her bandaged arm. Two or three thin drops of blood stained the white gauze. He deflated. "We should re-bandage that, shouldn't we?"

"And hopefully buy some aspirin. I took the last two yesterday." Helen smiled up at his disappointed look. Her blue eyes sparkled.

"I had you right where I wanted you too." Nikola sighed, but lowered his head to kiss her once more, still somewhat surprised when Helen lifted her face to meet his. "This is honestly one of the best mornings I've ever had."

Helen reached up with her uninjured arm and repeated the motion of trailing a finger down his cheek as she had last night. "Despite the circumstances that led us here, for me too."

Because he couldn't resist, Nikola kissed her quickly again before pushing off the bed. "I'll get the kit."

He came back to Helen sitting on the rumpled bed with her legs tucked under her, hair un-brushed, and inspecting her now un-bandaged arm. His insides swelled. Nikola could imagine life with Helen like this, traveling the world, dealing with the unbelievable, experiencing exciting adventures, both death-defying and not, and doing it all together.

Laying the kit down and open, Nikola gently took Helen's arm and examined it. It was healing nicely, slowly, but nicely. No signs of infection. They just had to keep from aggravating the wound. Nikola smirked. Which probably meant no wild frantic make-out sessions for a few days. Shame.

He cleaned and re-bandaged it in a clean dressing. Putting everything away, Nikola brushed a few stray curls out of place, reached out, and took Helen's hand. "And what are our plans for today, love?"

Helen smiled at his own mussed appearance. Nikola Tesla first thing in the morning was an adorable sight, crumpled clothes and all. They really had to get him pajamas. Or perhaps, nothing at all. Helen's cheeks warmed at the image, causing Nikola to tilt his head questioningly at her. Clearing her throat, Helen squeezed his hand lightly. "We should find out if this town has a rental car place, else it's the train for us, after breakfast of course."

Nikola hummed. "We could do that." He shuffled closer to her and lifted her hand to tenderly kiss the pad of each finger. "Or...we could do something else I had in mind." Her palm was next in line with a warm open-mouthed kiss.

"What?" Helen's breath hitched as his mouth moved to the sensitive skin of her inner wrist.

His eyes sparkled deviously. "You'll see." Nikola suddenly pulled away and got to his feet. "Get dressed, Helen."

Not bothering to repress her scowl at his retreating back, Helen huffed as for the second time in a week, Nikola had managed to fluster her, badly.

Judging by his low chuckle, Nikola knew it too.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Don't own anything, but the plot.

A/N: *points to rating and grins* It's about to get hot in here...

* * *

Chapter Six

She didn't know how he managed it.

Though it might have been his kisses or his soft touches or his sexily charming glances...Hell, even without his Abnormal powers, Helen considered Nikola Tesla to be the most dangerous being in the world.

It was his fault they were strolling down one of the many busy streets in the town's center, where a vast flea market had been set up. The two, dressed in some of their newly-acquired clothes - her in a bright spring green, cotton dress with a thin deep blue cardigan over top, him in a crisp white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dark blue dress pants. They held hands as they walked, peering into stalls and, in Nikola's case, making smart remarks about everything in sight.

Time was of the essence, but Nikola had convinced her that there was no proof that whomever was after them was still on their tail. For all their hired killer knew, Nikola proclaimed earlier in their hotel room, they were halfway on their way to Paris by now. He had no clue as to what direction they had fled. And so, they were safe to just relax for one day.

All this, was said while his arms were wrapped around her and he was nuzzling her neck. Helen blamed the fog in her mind for her easy capitulation.

Still, she was enjoying herself. Helen had been to France many times, but had never really ventured beyond her villa and the small town for supplies.

There was one stall selling vintage toys while another sold old books that lit upon her interest. All around her, people buzzed and the smell of food wafted in the air. Nikola's grip on Helen's hand remained firm.

It was his hand that persistently led her, amused, over to a shop that showcased nothing but wine bottles in wooden racks through its window. The ecstasy on his face made her want to laugh, but Helen admonished him, "Nikola, in case you've forgotten, we're not exactly on vacation here. Does the phrase 'traveling light' mean anything to you?"

Nikola, like a man entranced by a wonderful electric show, pushed through the door, saying, "There's no need to pass by the finer things in life, love." He flashed her a grin before a man wearing glasses greeted them in French.

"Finer things," Helen muttered. "Yes, like _living_." But she offered no resistance to the man tugging at her hand like a little boy visiting the zoo for the first time.

An hour. Possibly more. Helen had nibbled a dozen crackers between tasting every sample the shop offered and that Nikola had insisted on sampling, starting with the lighter offerings and working their way up to the heavier, headier choices.

Watching him enjoy himself, Helen couldn't help smiling. After living for over a century, it was impossible not to feel like your humanity was draining away, losing the zest for life. She had felt it more than once. But with Nikola, Helen felt young again. Alive. And it made her love him more than possible.

Surprisingly, the show owner was not put off by Nikola's arrogance; perhaps delighting in finding one so educated in the wines his shop sold. It was with a smile, a hearty goodbye, and wave that he saw them from his shop. Nikola emerged triumphant, carrying a cloth bag with in which two sturdy boxes held bottles of wine.

Helen let out a laugh at Nikola's satisfied sigh as they continued walking down the busy street, with people calling out to entice customers to peruse their wares.

She lingered over an antique chair from the Victorian era designed as part of the Gothic revival. "This reminds me of a chair I had in my old bedroom." She caressed the fabric, sternly reminding herself of what she had just admonished Nikola for.

"I wouldn't know. I never saw your bedroom, to my disappointment." Nikola wrapped his arm around her waist, seeing the longing on her face. "Perhaps when we come back, it'll still be here." It was unspoken that Nikola was in firm belief that they would survive this latest trouble and that they would come back together.

Helen looked at him thoughtfully before pulling away from the chair, giving a polite smile to the vendor. She leaned into Nikola, but said nothing as they continued to walk.

Their eyes wandered over the market wares, but somehow always managed to lead back to one another. Nikola marveled at how content he felt, holding Helen in his arm, strolling in France. This was like the culmination of over a century's worth of dreams to him. He pressed a kiss to her hair.

A smile lit Helen's face at Nikola's affection. It was as if this was a whole new man from the one she knew, but no, Helen acknowledged that the Nikola she was seeing, was the one he kept hidden from the world. And she felt so honored, knowing that she was one of the few that the cold man could be unguarded around.

Her blue eyes suddenly caught sight of something that made her gasp with surprise, and this time, it was her who was tugging Nikola's hand toward a stall.

"Helen...?"

Even before she reached the quiet stall that had no customers, Helen couldn't help her laughter. The stall had old paintings of landscapes and other assorted scenes hanging from every inch of its small space, but it was the basket holding black-and-white photos in protective plastic slips set on the table that had caught her eyes.

With a smile stretched widely, Helen giggled as she snatched up what had her erupting into a laughing fit. A fit that had a frankly concerned Nikola staring at her, until his eyes flicked to what she held in her hand.

He scowled in annoyance.

"I must have this!" Helen exclaimed, already fishing through her pockets for money.

Nikola growled lowly. "Helen..." He wanted to take the black-and-white photo of himself, circa 1896, and rip it up. Nikola remembered sitting for that photo, hating every minute of it, and the photographer trying vainly to coax him into looking friendly. He hated sitting still, and what was he thinking with that mustache? He unconsciously rubbed his upper lip, as if it was still there.

Helen was gushing, with laughs escaping every so often to the undoubtedly puzzled seller. "This great man holds an immense fascination with me. The world owes him so much." She handed over her money and Helen stared fondly at the photo clutched in her hands. "I absolutely love this man." She laughed again.

Nikola snapped his head towards Helen. Did she just...? His mouth parted slightly in surprise and he earnestly searched her face, only to be stunned even more when Helen looked up at him still with that ridiculously joyous smile and her feelings shining bright in her eyes. His heart leaped.

"I really do," Helen repeated steadily, holding his eyes for a long minute before thanking the woman and pulling a silently stupefied Nikola along.

Gently holding the picture to her chest, Helen peeked at it and laughed again. Not only because it positively hilarious to be walking next to the man himself, so physically different, with his electrified hair, clean-shaven face, and casual clothes, but because those had truly been happier times.

It was Nikola's golden years and hers too. He was in America, establishing a firm foothold on the technological front and her Sanctuaries were gaining recognition among Abnormals and those interested in protecting them. In a way, the masses flocked to them both. It was the realizations of their dreams come true. And it was a grand time.

It was few minutes later, Helen had gotten over her fit, that Nikola came out of his daze and asked quietly, "So, you really love that man...do you?"

Helen peered up at him, but Nikola was looking forward, appearing composed for all the world to see. She didn't know that his heart was pounding loudly, with blood rushing to his ears. She licked her lips. "I do." Her answer was firm and Helen turned back to look at her picture. "It's a recent development actually. This man was so hard to read...that I wouldn't know when to take him seriously." Helen spoke loftily. "But I consider myself good at discerning people, and I believe that if this man made a confession of love, it was to be taken seriously. And I'd be a fool not to fall in love with him either." She blinked her eyes at the sudden onslaught of tears. "And I have. Fallen in love with him, I mean. I couldn't help it." Helen smiled softly, composing herself, before adding, "Besides, he looks like he would be a good kisser."

Nikola didn't laugh. Instead, he plucked the picture from Helen's arm and stared at it. He too, thought back to that time, but only dwelt in his memories before fast-forwarding to the many years afterward. Years that held not so many good memories. "This man exists no more," he stated almost dismissively. "He's changed. And done some things that you probably wouldn't like." Nikola handed the picture back to her, waiting for her to respond to his answer.

"You're right," Helen agreed. "And you're wrong too." Nikola's eyes flicked towards her. "Yes, he's probably done things I wouldn't like, and he has changed. But this man," she pointed to the picture, "still exists. I know, because I've seen him. And despite whatever he does, I am still in love with him."

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Nikola stopped walked and finally turned to look at her. His blue-gray eyes explored her beautiful face. "This man's also possessive. And if you're willing to love him, you should know that he'd probably never be able to let you go." It was him giving her one last chance to walk away, though every fiber in his being yearned for the opposite.

Helen stepped closer to him. "I'd hope that he never would."

And Nikola finally smiled, his entire countenance changing into an unbelievably happy man. He cupped her cheek and bent his head to bring their lips together, halting only to say, "And yes," his smile turned into a grin, "I am an exceptionally good kisser."

The crowd jostled around them. Mixed reactions were voiced about the couple locked in an embrace, lips tangling, standing on the street.

The two broke apart to glance down at their stomachs. "Was that yours or mine?"

"Both. Come on, let's find somewhere to eat." Helen looked around.

"Ah, food. Another new burden," Nikola bemoaned dramatically, clasping Helen's hand as they started to walk.

She shot him a mischievous look. "There are a great many things one can do with food, Nikola. It can be eaten in the most interesting of ways."

Nikola nearly stopped at the innuendo in Helen's words. Such remarks usually came out of his mouth, not hers, and he chuckled. He was definitely rubbing off on her and Nikola relished in Helen's feisty remarks. "Care to demonstrate those interesting ways later, Helen?"

He also enjoyed the faint blush on her cheeks at his low intimate tone.

.-.-.-.-.-.

They walked through the flea market on their way back to their hotel. Nikola had vehemently protested the use of taking the bus to Marseilles, stubbornly insisting on taking the train, and Helen relented, only because he had charmingly manipulated her into agreeing, much the same way he convinced her to go to the market at the start of the day.

They walked through a different part of the market, strolling down the crowded street, and looking at the wares laid out on tables. Helen lamented at all the wonderful furniture and paintings she saw, while Nikola switched his attention between Helen and staring wistfully at the wine shops they passed.

It was a Moroccan-style bowl that caught Helen's eye and her mind instantly flashed back to the tradition she and Ashley started, adopting the Bedouin philosophy. Eating pastille in ceramic bowls under the night sky – Ashley had always wanted to go to Morocco. They never had the chance.

Helen let go of Nikola's hand to pick up the bowl and instantly lost herself in that last time they were camped out in the gardens, a colorful tent around them lying on luxurious cushions, staring up at the night sky.

Ashley had been so vibrant and happy. A sparkle in her eyes, joy in her wide smile...her daughter, the only person that mattered to her heart for a long time. Tracing the rim of the earthenware bowl, Helen would have liked to buy it and shown it to Ashley, made plans to use it on a surprise trip to Morocco.

But her baby was dead. With not even a grave with a proper body beneath it to console herself with. Clenching her jaw to fight back the swelling in her throat, Helen turned to Nikola.

He wasn't there. Not beside her or behind her and Helen was alone in a strange crowd.

Hair flared wildly as Helen looked around her, trying to find that electrified hair she knew so well. There were people everywhere and it was amazing that only a moment ago, Helen knew only happiness.

Anxiety swamped her and panic caused her to breath faster. Helen clamped her mouth shut, trying not to call out Nikola's name in a frantic, frightened tone.

Had he been kidnapped? Forced at gun-point to leave her? Helen knew they should have left earlier. Her heart pounded hard as she continued to search for the man who had suddenly become a large part of her world.

Helen turned to back to the market stall. "Excuse me," she asked in French, her voice shaking. "Did you happen to see the man who was with me?"

The man looked puzzled. "There was no man with you, miss."

Her stomach dropped and Helen gave a shaky smile, turning around to hide the tears pooling in her eyes.

Suddenly, she felt so very alone in the crowd of people. And vulnerable.

The friendly faces of the native people morphed into cold, unfamiliar features of strangers.

"Oh Helen, I must show you something." Nikola's voice had his usual mischievous tone. He appeared behind her, through a crowd, and grabbed her hand.

"Where did you go?" Helen snapped out, spinning to look at him with tears wavering in her eyes. She hurled herself in his arms, grabbing at his shirt, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Her heart still raced. "I looked back and you were gone. I thought..."

Nikola's smile faded at the hysterical note in Helen's voice and he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I saw a shop around the corner. I'm sorry, Helen. I didn't mean to frighten you," he murmured apologetically. He cursed himself. They had gotten so caught up in their fun, that they had forgotten the potential danger they were in. "Helen, love, I'm sorry." He kissed her hair, ignoring the bustle and stares around him.

Helen inhaled Nikola's comforting scent and fought back tears. In just a few short days, Nikola had claimed a large piece of her heart. To lose him like she lost Ashley was something that would destroy her. Nikola continued crooning in her ear; his embrace tight. And slowly, slowly, her panic subsided.

"What store?" Helen asked quietly subdued, pulling away and taking a deep breath. She shook her head in disbelief. "What have you done to me, Nikola Tesla?"

Nikola's face softened. Reaching for her hand, he kissed her palm. "Just made you see what was really there, love." The corner of his lips quirked. "It was only a matter of time before you gave in to my good looks and charm." He pulled her in another direction as she graced him with a small smile, after her panic attack.

Weaving through the crowd, Nikola's grip on Helen's hand was tight, as if to reassure her that he would never again leave her alone. They left the main street and it wasn't long before Nikola stopped at a brightly-decorated stall.

"Voilà!" His grin was devious.

Helen saw the reason why.

"Doesn't it just take you back to the old days, love?" Nikola asked amusingly.

She shot him an unamused look. "These are not the type of corsets I wore, Nikola." Helen looked around at the stall that showcased nothing but corsets. Some vintage, some new, of all designs. Straps of lace and elastics dangled from some, others had garters attached. Black satin, red silk, neon pink cotton, purple latex, lime green plastic. Still others had noticeable holes in conspicuous areas and others were designed with Velcro straps for easy removal.

"True, they are saucier. You'd look even hotter than you already do."

A buxom-lady approached them and asked in French, "Would you care to look at one in particular?"

Helen opened her mouth to refuse when Nikola said over her, "Yes. She would like to see that one." He pointed at black one that appeared actually modest. It had a tasteful brocade design with a black tassel trim. It had detachable garters hanging on it.

The lady brought it over. "You would look very good in this one." She eyed Helen's trim body with approval. "Your husband, he would like."

Helen's panic attack was forgotten, replaced by a light blush at Nikola's slow appreciative perusal of her body and the widening of his grin, bordering on predatory. It went unsaid that he would very much like it on her.

Glancing at the corset, Helen's mind joined Nikola's in the gutter. She was one hundred and fifty-seven! Helen had seen and done things that would make people's toes curl and turn their hair gray, so why were the mental naughty pictures causing her cheeks to warm? Because it was Nikola, obviously.

"It would spice things up in the bedroom, love." Nikola looked tickled at the fiery blush on Helen's cheeks. He loved teasing her, and doing so in public prevented her from retaliating. Nikola couldn't help but act like a devious little devil.

"Now why would I wear this, when you won't even give my handcuffs a try?" Helen shot back lightly, the blush still warming her cheeks as Nikola appeared utterly delighted at her return sauciness. She shook her head at the vendor, refused her politely, and took Nikola's hand.

They made their way back to the hotel. A man stepping out of the door held it open for them and smiled, tipping his head in response to their thanks. Helen caught a glimpse of his eyes, noting that they almost looked silver.

"I'm making a mental note to burn that." Nikola looked calculatingly at his old picture that Helen had set aside when they were up in their room. Helen shot him a look that dared him to do just that. He reclined in a soft wicker chair by the window. "You know, that's the third person who thought we were married today."

Helen glanced at him. "A man and a woman traveling together, we rented a single room with one bed -"

"And you can't seem to keep your hands and lips off me," Nikola interjected devilishly.

" -it's easy to see why people would think so. And I am not the only one."

Nikola stood up with a flourish. "My point is, if you're truly going to play the part, then you should look it as well." He held out his hand.

Helen glanced down and saw a beautiful old ring with a gold band and a single diamond surrounded by tinier diamond beads held aloft between his two fingers. Her mouth parted in surprise.

"Where...? How..."

"It's where I disappeared off too. I saw it and..." Nikola trailed off. He couldn't look at her and instead stared all around the room. "It just suddenly seemed a good idea to me...at the time..." He cleared his throat. "The diamond is fake," Nikola continued, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. "But no one's really going to be looking at it." With the barest tremble in his hand, he took her left hand and knelt in front of her.

Helen gasped and her blue eyes were wide in her face.

Nikola kissed Helen's palm, letting his warm breath wash over the sensitive skin, and looked up at her. "What do you say, Helen Magnus? Will you be my wife?" He smirked lightly. "At least for awhile?"

For all that this moment wasn't real, Helen's heart raced in her chest. She stared down at Nikola on one knee and he looked at her with such love that it stole her breath away. Swallowing hard and with blood rushing through her ears, Helen shakily nodded.

Nikola's face broke out into a wide happy smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes and displayed his dimple. Without taking his eyes off her, he tenderly, reverently, slid the ring onto her finger and kissed her finger-tip.

Getting to his feet, Nikola continued to smile down at her. Cupping her chin, he gently tilted it upward while his lips descended upon hers in an ardent kiss.

In their shared hotel room in France, in the middle of the day, locked in a kiss, Helen and Nikola gave themselves over to something both had been longing for.

Helen's hands rose to rest on Nikola's chest and she pressed herself closer. Slowly, her fingers started to unbutton his shirt.

Nikola clasped her wrists and pulled away, looking down at her seriously. "Helen..." _Are you sure?_ his blue-gray eyes asked.

A heartfelt smile slowly decorated Helen's lips and she slipped her hands into his. "Absolutely."

An answering smile tinged with wonder led Nikola to cup her face and pull her back into a kiss. Hands that helped create and shape the world today slid down her neck, over her shoulders, catching the straps of her dress and sliding them down her arms.

The dress slid down her body and Nikola tracked its progress like a starving man presented with a succulent buffet. It landed in a whispered pool at her feet and Nikola found himself swallowing hard.

"You're a bit over-dressed," Helen whispered, a faint flush on her skin at his intense scrutiny. She took a step forward, closing the distance between them and pressed herself close while her fingers unbuttoned his dress shirt.

Nikola's smirk was faltering as his burning eyes continued roaming over all over Helen's lovely exposed skin. Her hands pushed off his shirt and her fingers fluttered over his bare flesh. "Helen..."

What followed were moments of tentative touches, a mixture of disbelief that this was happening and a hesitance of venturing into the unknown. Nikola's hands flowed over every inch of Helen's body, caressing each patch of skin and leaving Helen trembling in his arms; the breathy moan of his name falling from her lips.

With a habit of methodical study on abnormals, Helen delightfully applied the same habit when rising over Nikola's slender, muscled body and that left him fisting his hands, wads of bed-sheet between his whitened knuckles.

As afternoon fell into evening, evening into night, their slick bodies twisted and writhed under the bedsheets, building up to their climaxes, waves of pleasure sweeping over them again and again as the day darkened. Where one went, the other followed and cries of their names infused with love and ecstasy punctuated the room.

Years of want, of need and longing, drove them to reach for the other repeatedly as they lay gasping for breath, wanting to keep experiencing that ultimate joining when they became one and their world shrank to that intimate connection and the sensations exploding within their bodies.

When at last they collapsed out of pure exhaustion, they both fell into a blissful sleep, satiated and spooned against each other; a smile of utter happiness playing upon both their lips. Nikola's arm wrapped protectively around Helen's waist with their fingers entwined as their eyes succumbed to sleep and their last words echoing in their minds, guaranteeing more than pleasant dreams.

It was only after, in their blissful haze, lying entwined in bed that Helen sleepily murmured, "I love you, Nikola."

His arms tightened around her slender form and Nikola's eyes blazed in the setting darkness. "And I have always loved you, Helen."

Giving a sigh of happiness, Helen tilted her head up on his bare shoulder and Nikola bent his, their lips meeting in a soft, sleepy kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Not my best chapter, but it's hard finding time these days :( Read and enjoy!

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"Mmm..."

Lips bestowed soft kisses on his bare skin. A finger traced the planes of his chest before he felt the delicious sensation of a feminine, equally naked, body sliding up his own.

But the best was hearing the voice of the woman he loved murmuring in his ear, "Nikola," the man in question groaned again, "I want you."

The most arrogant smirk curled his lips before Nikola cracked his eyes open to Helen nibbling on his earlobe. Enjoying Helen's squeal as he deftly flipped them over, settling his body over hers. "I aim to please, love." He lowered to capture her lips with his, bursting with happiness, as he felt her hands thrust through his hair.

Nikola swept a sensual firm hand over Helen's body as they kissed, feeling a possessive streak within. Now that he had her, Nikola would never let her go

Their bodies started to move together under the bedsheets and any talk about leaving, staying one foot ahead of the trouble possibly plaguing their steps, swiftly fled from their minds.

Nikola groaned and muttered, "I knew we should have bought that corset."

Helen let out a muffled giggle.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

5,683 miles away and across the Atlantic Ocean, Paulo Mendoza struggled not to roll his eyes as he listened to his friend-by-reluctance, Terrence Wexford, vent about Magnus' sudden disappearance.

"It is completely unacceptable for her to just up and leave like that." Wexford had been spewing the same outraged lines for the past twenty minutes. "We should hold a council without her to decide how to curb this irresponsible behavior. Helen is no longer fit to head the Sanctuary Network."

Paulo's grandfather had been hand-picked by Dr. Magnus to head the Rio de Janeiro Sanctuary until his death five years ago. Paulo himself had nothing against the woman, for she mainly left them alone to run their own Sanctuaries as they saw fit. Wexford, and to a lesser extent, Paulo had grander designs in mind.

But Paulo had a quiet retirement in mind for Dr. Magnus, though the woman never seemed to age. Wexford wanted to crucify her. And the Abnormal was making noticeable waves.

What was his power, anyway? Paulo had wondered that often. No one seemed to know. Well, perhaps Dr. Magnus did.

The door opening had Paulo holding up a hand forestalling Wexford's rants and his son, Antonio, poked his head through.

"Ah, Terrence. I am afraid an urgent matter has come up that I must deal with. Perhaps you too should be taking care of your Sanctuary." Instead of wasting time airing your grievances, was left unspoken.

The Abnormal glared at him before shutting off the vid-screen.

"Anything, son?"

"We swept the entire building, father, but nothing was out of place, and no one was found. Jorge checked the breached sector and found nothing unusual. He is re-checking the alarm system for any faulty detections as well as having the camera surveillance hauled in. It was probably nothing."

Paulo sighed. "Still, after what happened last year, I am not too keen on another attack. Make sure everyone is on high alert for the next few days." After his son left, Paulo leaned back in his chair, tired. It seemed as if he had not slept for the past couple of days. He closed his eyes, resting for a few moments before he personally went to check out the area where the security system had indicated a break-in.

Paulo fell asleep.

It was a few hours later that a gloved hand clamped over his mouth woke him up. The slender muscled man had no time to struggle as the muzzle of a gun was placed against his temple and even less time to widen his eyes before a bullet pierced his skull.

It was many hours later when Paulo's son came to report to him again. And found his father dead in his seat.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Nikola grumbled all the way to the train station. He even tried to entice Helen to stay an extra day at the inn, using his dangerous smile and roving hands to turn her into putty.

But Helen had learned to deal with Nikola, even an amorous one, with over a century's worth of experience. That, and she wasn't above using his weakness for her against him either. A logically pointed out fact that the sooner they stopped running, the more time they would have together had Nikola grumbling, and packing.

A hearty lunch and check-out found them at the train station, purchasing first-class tickets, to Nikola's insistence.

They were about to head to the platform when a young man called out, waving his hand to gain their attention. He was dressed in a conductor's uniform that looked rumpled and he panted as he stopped in front of them. "A thousand pardons, but there has been a discrepancy with your tickets." Helen and Nikola looked at each other. "I have been sent to bring you to the office to sort it." The man bowed his head, looking apologetic. "Please, if you will follow me."

Nikola eyed the man suspiciously and glanced down at his ticket. He didn't see anything wrong and he cautiously squeezed Helen's hand.

A squeeze back indicated that she too, was tense. But the last thing they wanted to do was cause a riot; Helen herself was carrying a gun and as a foreigner, that always raised questions.

"Of course," she nodded, "lead the way." As they followed the young man, Helen surreptitiously tried to unzip her bag, cursing the fact that it wasn't already tucked into her waistband.

Leading them away from the platform, the young man kept smiling and apologizing as he gestured them down a cold, stone tunnel that appeared to be a back entrance for employees. A large metal dumpster piled high with garbage stood near the opposite end and two doors, on either side, were closed.

"The office is this way." The young man continued to smile...

...While his leg suddenly lashed out and caught Nikola unawares, hard in the stomach while he whipped out a gun with a silencer mounted on it and pointed it directly in Helen's face.

Nikola stumbled back, nearly falling, and Helen reacted instantly. Throwing her bag at the man, catching him in the face, a muted shot rang out, hitting the ceiling, and Helen dropped to the balls of her feet, sweeping a leg out.

Unlike Nikola, days ago, who had been sent tumbling, the young man maintained his ground, threw Helen's bag off, and pointed the gun at her again, firing off two consecutive shots, careening directly at her unprotected chest.

Helen inhaled sharply, seeing death coming for her.

When the bullets halted in mid-air, wavered, and then dropped to the concrete ground.

The young man looked surprised, before being spun around to see a furious Nikola, who put all his weight in and swung a punch, staggering the young man back.

"Nice try, sonny. But not good enough." Nikola may have lost his vampiric features, but the fire that burned in his eyes made him no less threatening.

Without pause, Nikola made a motion with his hand and squeaking wheels rumbling toward them echoed in the stone tunnel. Seconds later, the large metal dumpster they had noticed came slamming into the young man, knocking the gun out of his hand, and running him over with its momentum.

"Helen, let's go!" Nikola grabbed their stuff and together they took off running toward the train platform.

Appearing to other passengers as merely latecomers, Helen and Nikola shoved their tickets to a real conductor standing on front of the door and hastily boarded. Walking quickly to their seats, Nikola pulled the window shade down and peeked around it.

Breathing hard, he scanned the platform for any sign of their pursuer. Nikola continued to do this until the train pulled out of the station and he sat back.

"Well," he said nonchalantly. "I guess that answers the question of whether someone was still following us." His heart pounded and his chest heaved. His hand ached from the hard satisfying punch he'd given the boy. When he had been on the run in the 40's, Nikola had vampire stamina, speed, and reflexes. Then again, he also didn't have Helen traveling with him that time. The two balanced each other out as some of the hardest times in his long life.

"The bigger question is if he was the only one following us," Helen retorted, panting lightly. She stowed their bags in the compartment above."He'll also know where this train is bound for." She plopped down beside him.

Raising the arm-rest that separated their seats, Nikola pulled Helen close, worrying at how close he had almost lost her, again. "It's always an adventure with you, isn't it?" he commented lightly, reassuring himself by running a hand through her curls.

Helen shifted to nestle her head underneath his chin. "I thought you enjoyed this kind of stuff."

"That was when I was practically a god, Helen. Bullets were mainly an annoyance. And I only found it fun when I was with you because I always imagined us emerging victorious and falling into bed, having wild adrenaline-laced sex afterward." Nikola paused. "Though I will be getting that now." He ran a hand down her thigh. "It's a shame you're wearing pants today."

Helen stopped his roaming hand just as an older woman walked past them to the toilet and gave her a polite passing smile. "It's also a shame that we're in public, Nikola. Mind your manners."

"Helen, love, I didn't have any manners to begin with." Nikola shifted slightly, his adrenaline tapering off. "So, what's the plan?"

"We stay together, stay in the crowd, get a cab, and hopefully lose ourselves in the city." Helen's reply was prompt. "Book a flight to England, and head for the airport. I want to know who's after me."

Pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, Nikola mused quietly, "I'm not sure if he knows who you are, Helen. And he definitely doesn't know about Abnormals; did you see the look on his face when I stopped those bullets?" Just saying those words made him remember, and Nikola held her tighter. "And please, try not to get into that position again."

Both he and Helen knew that she couldn't make that promise, and instead, Helen sighed, squeezing his hand. Despite their lounging position, they both remained alert, and Helen's hand stayed close to the gun in her bag.

The throb in Nikola's hand had gone by the time the train pulled into Marseilles, but his grip on Helen's hand was tight as they purposely let themselves get swept up in the crowd exiting the station and right into an expensive cab.

With directions to the nearest hotel to the airport, Nikola and Helen cared little for the growing meter amount, instead glancing out the windows around them.

The hotel was not a five-star; certainly all those hotels were located in prime areas, but with rumbling of airplanes taking off nearby, Helen embraced it. Before even checking into a room, Helen asked the concierge to book a one-way flight to London.

Unfortunately for them, the hotel had no restaurant and only minimal room service. The concierge recommended a restaurant only ten minutes away, and so they braved it, Helen with her gun tucked into her black pants.

It wasn't enough. Or perhaps the wonderful dinner had dulled their senses, just a bit on their way back to the hotel for they never noticed the dark presence at their back until it spoke.

"I'll kill her if you move." The heavily-accented voice was followed by the all-too familiar click of a gun's hammer. Despite the grimace on Helen's face, Nikola didn't need to know that to sense the barrel of the gun had been shoved right up against her back. He squeezed Helen's hand.

"Head into the alley ahead. Slowly. Do not make any sudden moves. Do not open your mouths. Keep your hands vhere I can see them. Disobey and I vill kill her. And then I vill kill you before her body hits the ground, da?" It was not the same man who had tried to kill them at the train station. How many more were out there hunting them?

Even at a time like this, Nikola's arrogance had him opening his mouth as if to say something in direct defiance of their assailant's request. Helen squeezed his hand warningly.

It was darker in the alley and smelled none too clean. Nobody else was around and both Helen and Nikola couldn't believe they had gotten into this situation. They weren't some naive innocents. Over a hundred years old, intellectual geniuses, capable of being ruthless, and having done and witnessed toe-curling events. Only to be done in by some nameless hired gun for money.

How embarrassing.

Helen felt her gun being removed. Knew the man was eying it. "A pretty piece for a pretty lady." He halted them once they'd gotten further into the dark alley and roughly shoved Nikola away, breaking their hand-hold.

If Nikola had still been a vampire, he would have growled. Better yet, he would used his speed and sunk his clawed hands into the bastard's chest, sending a welcoming jolt of electricity up his spine. Instead, he stood there, helpless, as the man positioned Helen to stand facing him, just out of arm's reach. The bastard stood uncomfortably close to Helen's back, using her as a shield.

Keeping a gun digging into her back, the man who held them hostage mockingly caressed Helen's cheek with the cold barrel of the other gun. "The price on your head is high, pretty lady, I almost find myself wondering what you could haff done to anger somevone so." Her hair puffed as he chuckled. "That one," indicating Nikola, "he wants nothing more than to kill me, yes?"

Nikola's eyes were deadly. Cold, hard, violent anger glittered as he stared at their attacker; his helplessness at the situation morphing into a need to tackle the man as he continued to brush the gun across Helen's face. His hands clenched. "Any man who has to hide behind a woman at gunpoint deserves to die," he grounded out.

The man chuckled harder and taunted Nikola by mockingly placing a kiss upon Helen's hair. Nikola's muscles tensed.

"I think that this is vat I should do." The man sounded sadistically amused. Both Helen and Nikola were startled when the man pushed the grip of the gun into Helen's lax hand and pushed it up...

...raising it to point directly at Nikola's chest. Nikola's eyes widened, as did Helen's.

"I hear of saying: Love is a bitch. Pretty lady...shoot him. I vant to see you kill the man you love. Spare him the sight of vhat is going to happen to you later, vhen I deliver you to my clients."

Nikola had felt the sting of bullets sinking into his skin many times before. Helen herself had shot him three consecutive times and it hadn't bothered him. When he had been a vampire. An unfamiliar fear rose inside, one that was reflected in Helen's wide blue eyes.

The sick sadistic bastard was enjoying their struggle. Helen could feel the shakes of his chuckles along her back and she focused her attention back on Nikola.

_How the hell were they going to get out of this? _

"Allow me." A familiar guttural tone spoke as if hearing their simultaneous unspoken question and Helen's curls barely rustled as a something blurred past them and their mouths parted with surprise.

Helen spun, clutching her gun, but it took her a moment to discern where her assailant had gone. Nikola had flung his hands out, ready to yank the bastard's gun into his own hands.

Neither of their actions were necessary.

A familiar clawed hand gripped their assailant by the throat, lifting him up with ease, and then threw him against the brick wall with such force that the young man literally bounced off, and landed with a sickening thud. He did not get up.

"Bože moj," Nikola uttered, completely slack-jawed, a first, as they took in the man in front of him.

His figure was back-lit against the night sky, but it wasn't hard to see what had Helen and Nikola frozen in their places.

Clawed hands, fanged teeth, the altered voice, the reflexes; Nikola took it all in disbelief. Helen noticed the man's dark depths held swirls of silver.

By the heavens and the earth...

Sanguine Vampiris.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: This chapter is dialogue-heavy and for that I apologize, as I personally hate huge walls of text, but it was necessary! Hopefully, you readers don't mind so much and that you enjoy the chapter! Thanks for reading! And huge thanks you to all who reviewed! :D

* * *

In a instant, the man's face reverted to human features and Helen jerked. His dark eyes continued to swirl with silver. It was hypnotizing.

"You!" Helen pointed her gun at the man, the vampire, her disbelieving mind thought. "I've seen you before. You were at our hotel in Aix-En-Provence. Why are you following us?"

The man dusted imaginary dirt off his suit. He was even more impeccably dressed than Nikola. "Following you, more specifically, Ms. Magnus. I came here for you," his voice was rich and cultured. "Because I need your assistance."

"Who are you?"

Smiling congenially, the man placed his hand on his chest and bowed his head. "My name is Alain, and it is a pleasure to meet you at last, Ms. Magnus."

Helen did not like to be confused. No one did, really, but it caused her finger to tighten around her gun's trigger.

"You are a vampire." Nikola, it seemed, had come out of his shocked daze. His eyes were wide with disbelief. "How?" he breathed, taking a step forward. Nikola's eyes lit upon the man as if he held all the answers in the world.

Alain kept his benign smile. "I am indeed, Mr. Tesla. Sanguine..."

"Vampiris," Nikola breathed. "This is impossible. You were all wiped out during the purges. The last few seeking refuge in Bhalasaam were completely massacred." His eyes studied Alain with a feverish light.

A muscle ticked in Alain's jaw and he looked sorrowful. "Those were troubling times, and indeed, very many of us were lost. Brethren all. Loved by all." His smile was sad now. "But a handful of us chose not to go to Bhalasaam, deciding it was better for our continued survival to scatter into the winds of the world. When word of Bhalasaam's destruction reached, we mourned. For a long time."

Helen grew concerned about Nikola. For although, it seemed undeniable proof that Alain was a vampire from his physicality, his story could simply be that, a story. Nikola was so entranced with the vampire in front of him that it looked as if his mind had gone. She knew Nikola wanted nothing more than to find a way to re-vamp himself and it seemed like the answer was standing right in front of him. For Nikola, it wasn't about the vampiric powers, it was about who he was, who he really was. A vampire with vampire ancestors. For him, meeting Alain was akin to meeting a long-lost relative.

"Nikola," she cautioned, blue eyes watching the man she loved before returning to Alain. "This seems like a fantastical story, and Nikola would undoubtedly wish to hear more of it if it is indeed true. But first, you said you needed my assistance, explain that and who exactly this man is."

Alain raised an eyebrow. "It was not I who sent this man after you, Ms. Magnus. Please rest assured of that. I like to do my own dirty work when need be." He looked down at the dead assassin. "No, he was hired by those who refer to themselves as 'The Cabal'."

Helen cocked her head. "The Cabal were destroyed."

"Their heads, yes, but The Cabal have leeched their tentacles into everything. They are everywhere. And their plans still continue to move forward to this day. Your Sanctuaries, Ms. Magnus, are in trouble once again."

Sucking in a breath at the news, Helen nevertheless gritted her teeth. This man, this vampire, certainly had a way of getting their attention. Nikola had stopped moving, but continued to study the man with scientific hunger. His fingers twitched by his sides. Troubled by the news, if it was true, Helen raised her chin, still distrusting.

Instead of becoming impatient or frustrated, Alain smiled, as if he were viewing a fond memory. He spread his hands in supplication. "I see you still do not believe me. Perhaps we should ask your father where he got that vial of blood from?"

Nikola shook his head, scoffing and showing he was still attentively listening to the conversation. "Gregory Magnus is long gone, Alain with the no-name."

Alain smiled that little smile of his and turned to Helen, as if expecting an answer from her to his question. "It is true I have not seen him for a long time, but is he?"

Nikola glanced at her too.

"You're telepathic." Helen guessed, frowning in consternation and Alain inclined his head. "I don't know where he is."

"Helen?" Nikola looked in askance. "Your father's alive? What, did he inject himself too? How long have you known this?" The news stunned him, though considerably less so than meeting a pure vampire after their supposed extinction.

"The Cabal cryogenically froze him before reviving and then brainwashing him. I didn't know he was alive until two years ago. I don't know where he is; he's in hiding." She glanced at Alain. "You're going to have to find another way to convince me."

"Very well then." With slow movements tracked by Helen's gun, Alain reached into his blazer and pulled out an old ornate-looking, heart-shaped locket. He dangled it from his fingers. "Will this do?"

Helen gasped and her hand trembled. Nikola stepped up beside her; he didn't know the significance, but he lent Helen strength in his presence.

"Where did you - " she uttered in shock, her blue locked on the heavy necklace. "My father would never give that away. He said he'd lost it - " On the return trip home to England. In 1886. The same trip he had brought the Source Blood back. Her father had shown sadness at its loss, his first gift to her mother when they were young. He carried it everywhere with him, in a sealed vest pocket so that it would never fall out -

Alain smiled genuinely, there was no hidden malice or danger in it. "I promise to explain everything to you and Mr. Tesla, but first we must leave here." He stepped closer, but stopped when Helen backed away. His smile turned sad and instead held out the locket to her. "I think I should give this to you as a token of good faith, Ms. Magnus."

Helen's curiosity was overcoming her wariness, a frequent occurrence. She glanced at Nikola who nodded in agreement before taking the locket and holding it close to her heart. "Where do you suggest?"

"A car is parked at the other end of this alley. From there to the airport." Alain began walking, expecting them to follow. "Our would-be murderer here has many other friends. The Cabal is undoubtedly aware of your precise location. You were already planning to leave France, weren't you?"

"Our bags -"

"Already in the trunk." Alain smiled that peculiar smile again at Helen's suspicious look. It was as if he knew how she was already going to react and was amused at her predictability.

A modest four-door awaited them and Helen choose to take the front passenger, sitting with her gun pointed right at Alain's chest. Vampire he may be, but Nikola had proven that even a bullet provided a minute distraction.

Carefully tracking their route, Helen soon turned to Alain suspiciously. "This isn't the way to the airport."

"I chartered a private jet," Alain responded, his hands expertly guiding the car through the narrow French streets, making their way out of the city. "Their hangers are located a bit ways from the main airport." He smiled reassuringly at her, as if aware that Helen didn't trust him.

The ride continued in silence and they were well out of the city before Alain's eyes flicked to the rear view mirror. "Well, it appears we are being followed." Helen's hair flew as she whipped around in her seat to see the single headlight of a motorbike getting brighter as it approached.

"How do you - " She ducked as a bullet pierced the rear windshield.

Nikola, in the backseat, swore, ducking low across the seat. "It must be that upstart from the train station." He covered his head as the glass cracked and splintered, hit with another bullet.

Helen checked her clip, rolled down her window, and blindly returned fire.

"You know, as the man in control of the car, you could help out in making us less of a static target," Nikola snapped, feeling his cheek momentarily sting from the cut glass.

Alain commented lightly, "I've never actually participated in a car chase before." He sped up.

Nikola got over his awe and shock at being in the company of an actual vampire to sneer at the back of the man's head. It wasn't too long ago, that he would have acted in the same way, feeling completely non-threatened by a hail of bullets. He felt a fleeting commiseration with Helen and all the times she became exasperated by him. He thought for a moment before catching Helen's attention. "On my say, I want you to cover me. Empty your clip if you have to."

Helen nodded, trusting him, and unbuckled her seat belt. Maneuvering herself to kneel backwards on her seat, Helen glanced at Nikola, waiting for his signal. Alain watched with interest out of the corner of his eye.

"Now!"

Helen popped her top half out of the window and began firing.

Nikola sprang up to see the motorbike out of the shattered windshield and concentrated. A motorbike, a wonderfully cool invention of transportation, was essentially made out of metal. Putting the practice of his powers into use, Nikola caused the swerving bike to jerk wildly, repelling it away from the metal of the car and attracting the wheel hub to the metal guard-rail alongside the road. The wheel turned completely with the magnetic force and lurched toward the rail, toppling the bike over and skidding across the road, dragging the driver along for the ride.

Helen emptied her clip and ducked back inside. She shared a grin with Nikola. "Very nice," she complimented. Nikola wiggled his eyebrows at her, causing her eyes to crinkle with laughter.

"Yes, magnificent, Mr. Tesla."

Dusting himself off, and carefully brushing glass of the seat, Nikola leaned against the door. He checked for any signs of their pursuer. "Dare we hope that that is the last we'll see of our troubles?"

"Forgive me for saying so, but it seems to me that trouble tends to follow you two around, doesn't it?"

Pumped with adrenaline, Helen smiled. "The only difference is that Nikola invites his trouble." She shot him a teasing glance in the mirror, only to find him grinning back at her.

"And Helen inadvertently stumbles into hers. Stealing three witches from a crypt ring any bells?"

"A perfect match between you two," Alain commented indulgently and it was as if with another brush with death in that single night had allowed Helen to drop her guard slightly and believe that this mysterious Alain was not actually trying to kill them. She dug her mother's locket out of her pocket and opened it to see the black-and-white picture of herself as a little girl and one of her mother that her father had put in. Helen smiled sadly before feeling the car stop. They had arrived.

Helen scrambled out of the car, eying the shattered glass of the back windshield. "Your car is going to raise some questions."

"Oh, don't worry." Alain smiled placidly. "It's not my car." He closed the door and gestured to the airport hanger. "Shall we?"

Nikola couldn't help grin at the man's blasé attitude. Alain reminded himself of someone. He gathered an astonished Helen by the elbow, also enjoying her gaping expression, and murmured, "Shall we then, love?"

The plane was a private one, luxurious and plush and much to Nikola's approval. He took a moment, ignoring Helen's amused look, to settle deep in the smooth leather chair before pulling her in right beside him. She swore he even began purring when Alain served them glass flutes filled with wine before the man sat across from them and began his explanation as promised.

"Your father stumbled on top of us, quite upon accident really. Both sides were startled. We...were not at our best then. But your father recognized us for what we were and instead of running straight to the nearest church to reveal us, he offered us sanctuary." Tears formed in Helen's eyes. "We refused, out of pride mostly, and determination to see our way back into this world that had turned upon us. Your father insisted upon helping us find adequate shelter, medication, and theories on how to sustain our blood lust." Alain smiled as Helen and Nikola exchanged long looks, no doubt remembering when Helen had helped develop a similar medication for Nikola's own blood-lust. "We were wary to trust this sudden stranger, and were set upon silencing him, but he showed us this locket of his. That bore a picture of his loved and deceased wife on one side, and his daughter waiting for him back home on the other. He laid it out on the ground and spread his arms wide, pleading for us to believe that he only wanted to help.

"It had been so long since we'd trusted a human, knowing that they were the ones that hunted us, but...wise in all manner, we too recognized that not all humans were alike, and that time had passed since the Purges. We searched this man's mind, and saw nothing but passion for all types of outcast beings. Abnormals, he called them. Even vampires. And so, we allowed him to help us, he spent four months with us, before returning to his daughter."

Alain looked at the locket still clutched in Helen's hand with some fondness. "Your father had great dreams of a sanctuary, to shelter all sorts of Abnormals. He hoped so dearly that we would be some of them. He wished to stay longer, but feared others would come looking for him. He bade us to keep the locket, an item so precious, until time came when he would return for it." Alain frowned. "Your father never returned to us by the time we moved on." His silver eyes gazed at Helen, and he gestured to the locket. "And now, it is back where it belongs."

"So there were survivors," Nikola breathed, his eyes awed. Helen suppressed a smile. There was less than a handful of things in this world that could hold Nikola spell-bound. His ancestral race was one and she, a smug smile lurked, was another. "More than anyone thought. You're all still out there."

Alain smiled sadly. "The hunt for us was relentless. The Church did not care who was hurt in their pursuit. Their soldiers were sent out to question everyone; a simple cut on the hand would reveal us, our self-regenerative powers. A vampire's body can withstand a great deal of injury, but even we cannot live without our heads. One of my brothers, they took him, shoved steel lances through his body by the dozens and left them there, so he could not heal, and locked him up. There, they starved him, until he perished; a skeleton with withered skin."

Helen interrupted, trying not become enthralled in this man's forgotten history, sad and barbaric as it was. "You said you needed my help. With what?"

He looked at her, with old eyes, hypnotizing Helen with those silver swirls. It occurred to her that for all of her one-hundred and fifty-eight years of experience, Alain had lived and seen much more. Maybe that was why he was so different from Nikola. There was no arrogance, no superiority, no list for world domination. Helen smiled wryly. Or perhaps those traits were part of Nikola's character; being part-vampire only heightened them. "My race, Ms. Magnus. The vampire race needs your help."

"The revival of our race!" Nikola breathed, the excitement in his eyes akin to the unveiling of one of his inventions.

"Not...quite, Mr. Tesla." Alain smiled. It was smile of sadness and old wisdom. "That is one path we have no wish to venture down again."

"But, the world is your oyster." Nikola burned with suppressed passion, caught up in his idea of ushering a new era of peace. And before him stood a man who could accomplish it. He found it hard to understand.

Alain smiled. "Was, Mr. Tesla. The world has changed, as have we." He spread his hands. "Our perceptions have changed, shifted. It is not world domination we seek; instead, we have adapted to integration." At Nikola's confused and disheartening look, Alain asked, "How old are you, Mr. Tesla?"

"One hundred and fifty-five," Nikola answered confusedly.

Alain's wise smile remained. "You are quite young. And it shows." He looked amused at their faces. It wasn't every day someone called them young. "Would you believe I am nearly two thousand? But," he clapped his hands, "you are tired and after a day like you've had, I do not blame you. There is a bedroom at the back that you may make use of until we arrive. There is still much we need to talk about."

Helen and Nikola's bodies took that moment to agree and the two realized how exhausted they were. After nodding to Alain, the two retired to the bedroom at the rear of the plane, tiredly changed into proper clothing, and collapsed onto the soft mattress.

But even though she was exhausted, Helen's mind raced with what she learned today and worried about what would happen tomorrow.

"You're worrying," Nikola pulled her close, "your forehead gets that little crease in the middle. Stop it." He leaned against the pillows, wrapping his arms around Helen and enjoying her warmth. "There's nothing to do now, but wait."

Helen brushed aside her hair to glance up at him, still feeling shivers underneath her skin as Nikola absently stroked her arm. "You're not the least bit worried about walking into more danger?"

"We've been doing good so far, Helen." Nikola nosed his way into Helen's brunette curls, closing his eyes and settling in. "You and I, that's all we need. We should sleep; we didn't get much last night."His lips curved into a smirk as he vividly recalled the reason why. "Or this morning."

Helen blushed. "Whose fault is that?"

"Yours," he retorted, a chuckle in his voice. "Who was it that woke me, whispering I want you? It wasn't me, ergo..."

Her blush flared. "Quiet, you."

"I want you too. In fact..."

"Nikola," Helen hissed, but her insides jumped with anticipation. "We're on a plane! And we're not alone!" She slapped his hand away from her thigh.

"Haven't you ever had the desire to join the High Mile club?"


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I have no medical experience and am only a lowly fanfic writer. Apologies for the long-winded explanations within, but I wanted to make my unbelievable theories sound clear to everyone.

I wanna thank everyone who reviewed! *gives massive hugs* Thanks everyone for reading and I'm really glad you're enjoying this fic! *hands out slightly burnt chocolate-and-peanut-butter chip cookies* ;P

* * *

Helen and Nikola slept through most of the flight. They were up, they were dressed, and so completely not in England.

Alain gestured to the opened door. "Welcome to Rome, Ms. Magnus, Mr. Tesla." His manner was so congenial that it was hard to believe he was a vampire. Helen could have passed him by on the street and never taken a single glance back.

Nikola breathed in the air as he stepped onto the stair ramp. He grinned and reminiscently, "Don't you love Rome?" He caught sight of Helen's sour look directed towards him and raised his eyebrows. "I apologized for that. I thought you'd forgiven me?"

Sighing, Helen squinted against the high sun. Instinctively, her mind went back to her last stay in Rome, not so much focusing on the adventure Nikola had pulled her into, but afterward. John had revealed himself as Ashley's father. Her heart panged. Ashley had been angry and it had taken two days of earnest talking for her daughter to forgive her. They had spent another two days touring Rome before the Sanctuary called them home. Helen dearly wished now, that she had ignored that call and spent more time with the daughter she had lost.

The warmth of Nikola's hand gently tugging her down the metal steps brought her back in time to hear Alain say, "The car will take us to my residence where you will meet the rest of my family and where we can explain just what it is we need your help with, Ms. Magnus."

Alain's residence was a luxurious Italian villa that was far more impressive than Helen's and covered acres and acres of land that ensured complete privacy. The driver, a brunet man wearing glasses around the same age as themselves, drove the car directly to the door.

A tall elegant blonde woman rushed out of the house to hug Alain with a vibrant smile. She was beautiful with a chic bob, soulful brown eyes and dressed in a stylish pantsuit. She was followed by a younger brunette woman who also threw her arms around Alain's taller form. He laughed and embraced both. "Ah, such a welcome!" He gestured to everyone. "Come, let us take this inside with a glass of wine."

The beautiful blonde was Chiska, and she was Alain's wife. Still happily married for nearly two-thousand years and Nikola arched a silent eyebrow at Helen, obviously thinking of their own future years. His eyes sought out the ring Helen still wore on her finger.

It was a symbol of all he'd ever wanted. _His_ ring on _her_ finger. His wife. His world, heart, inspiration, and more.

Everyone settled in a lavish sitting room that put anything Helen and Nikola had ever seen to shame. The brunette, gracefully beautiful in her own right, was their daughter, Roze. She wasn't actually their daughter, but one of two orphans Alain and Chiska had rescued after their entire family was massacred in the purges. Their brunet driver, Danel, was her brother.

Rounding out the group of majestic vampires was a distant cousin of Alain's, Marko. He was tall, thin with gray-streaked hair and a mustache.

Looking at them as a group and knowing what they were was awe-inspiring. Sanguine Vampiris. Vampires. Pure-blooded and whole. The most magnificent regal abnormals who, once upon a time, had ruled over human civilization, ushering in golden eras as pharaohs and kings.

They weren't just history-makers; they _were_ history. For once, Helen and Nikola were awed into silence. The excellent wine in Nikola's hand wasn't even afford a glance.

"The remnants of a once and great civilization. This...is all that is left of us." It was said sadly as Alain raised a solemn glass to the silence the group found themselves in. "We separated for safety and haven't seen any since. But it is obvious that some lived. Mr. Tesla's latent genes are proof of that."

Helen's awe became shadowed by Alain's words. Out of an entire civilization...Her sorrowful eyes flitted from Alain to Chiska, Roze, Danel, Marko. What had they gone through in the last two thousand years that caused such haunting in their eyes? Faces drawn at their horrific memories, they were why Helen had wanted to create Sanctuaries in the first place. So that no Abnormal species would have to go through what they did.

Nikola gritted his teeth, fingers tightening around his wine glass, and feeling the irrational anger he always felt when he was reminded of his ancestors' demise. He was overjoyed to see that they were not exterminated, but..."Five. Out of an entire race, the greatest race that ever lived, only five remain. How ironic." He glanced at Helen.

She was looking sadly outraged. Helen had seen first-hand the destruction of Bhalasaam, the unnecessary massacre, and she couldn't even begin to understand being hunted to virtual extinction. She looked directly at Alain, determined. "What is it that you need our help with?"

Chiska smiled brightly, as if to throw off the sudden gloom that had descended upon the group, and stood up, taking Helen's arm. "First, we must get you settled in, Helen, may I call you Helen? And you, Mr. Tesla, Nikola?" Her smile became more fond. "After all, you might be distant family already."

The three ventured up the stairs and down a marble hallway that had one long open terrace on one side, open to the elements with white silk curtains billowing in the wind.

"Some myths are false, like the holy water, aversion to crosses, and of course, the sunlight." Chiska gave a tinkling laugh. "Honestly, how would we be effective rulers if we couldn't walk in the sun? Especially in Egypt. It is ridiculously funny." Chiska continued walking. "For the most part, Alain and I personally never sought power on a large-scale, although," she tapped a manicured finger against her chin, "we were worshipped as a god and goddess when we settled for a time on some islands in the Asias. The Philippines, I think. Lovely beaches."

Helen couldn't help but admire Chiska, a living piece of history, to have lived through such terror and still be charming. She showed them to their room that held a king-sized bed and left them to settle in with a wink.

But their curiosity led Nikola and Helen, hand-in-hand, straight back downstairs and eventually down to Marko's lab where he and Alain finally set out their proposal. Helen sat on a cool metal stool while Nikola stood just behind her, one hand in his pocket, the other placed on Helen's back.

"First, I must show you something that will most likely be familiar." Alain went to a small fridge and retrieved something.

It was an instant flashback. Nikola's jaw dropped just a little and Helen's eyes widened.

A vial of blood. Dark, viscous, and powerful.

"My grandfather's blood. He was a scientist, like Marko, and when signs of the purges became evident, he siphoned his own blood, thinking it would be needed someday." Alain glanced at a stunned Helen. "Your father obtained his sample from me, from a larger batch which this vial came from.

"And it is with this vial, and your help, that we will ensure the survival of the vampire race." Alain set the vial down in front of them and laid a hand on Marko's shoulder. "At the present, we five are the last. We wish to remedy that." He stared at them with with dark eyes swirling with silver.

"We wish to revive the vampire race."

Helen blinked, glad she was sitting down. She stared raptly at Alain and Marko. This was starting to eerily sound like what Nikola had proposed when he'd resurfaced; how ironic it be in the same city.

Nikola felt Helen tense up under his hand, but where she was leery, he was filled with anticipation. The vampire race revived – it was what he wanted. Sure, they wouldn't be taking over the world and he wouldn't be getting a gold throne to sit on, but he could live with that. To know that he wasn't alone anymore, the last of his race, the single vampire left...

"This is not the first time we have attempted this. We tried many ways. But," Marko looked at Helen. "perhaps since technology is always advancing, the old ways are becoming lost. I do not know the process in which you managed to derive the serum, Ms. Magnus." He handed her a folder with handwritten notes all over it. "I have tried today's processes, including the two most medically-used, and can only deduce that you pooled additives into the serum before injecting yourself." His eyes gazed at her. "It astonishes me to see that you lived, when in all rights, you and your friends should have died."

Helen took the folder, scanning it. "You did clinical studies?" Her head shot up. "What happened to the volunteers?"

"None died. Please rest assured of that. The studies were done at the early stages." Marko sighed, leaning back in his chair. "It is not the fact that we cannot turn people into vampires, Ms. Magnus, that is the problem. We have successfully done so. But the end results are never what we expect. We have vampires who are completely mindless - "

"Been there. Done that," Nikola interrupted. "Only good for one thing and not entirely handy to have around when you're trying to hide."

Marko spared a smile. "We've had vampires with strange mutations, stunted, and shortened life spans, don't ask, and of course, there were the attempts in which, for some reason, our blood was not compatible with the subject. Most of these ended up dead or mad, who had to be put down for safety reasons.

"We have tried reversing our sterilization, in both men and women, but the Church was nothing but brutal in their extermination of us. We are a barren people." Instead of anger, Marko held a look of deep-seeded trauma, no doubt remembering what his race had gone through. "There are no viable specimens to be collected and harvested. We tried splicing our DNA and then reintroducing the strands..." Marko trailed off as Helen shot a look to Nikola, who merely raised his hands in innocence. "Let me guess, you did that as well?" He laughed.

Alain spoke up from where he had been standing silently. "There is also the matter of what happens after. As Marko said, we have had no trouble creating vampires, but some times behavioral modifications are needed. And most often than not, most do not agree with our new philosophy of integration." Alain gave a sad sigh. "It is from not having been through the experiences that we have. We have learned from our defeats, our mistakes. These young ones produced want nothing more than to go out there and have the world bow to them."

Nikola leaned against a desk, and pointed a finger at Alain. "I hear you exactly. Kids these days, what has gotten into them? Wanting to just dive right in." He shook his head.

Helen gave an incredulous scoff and whipped her head to face her lover. "Last I heard, _you_ wanted to take over the world, Nikola. Vampires to lead the growing mass of Abnormals in a quest for world domination, remember?"

"Yes, well..." Nikola uncomfortably adjusted his tie. "That was before I became aware of my ancestors' wishes for integration. I am a reasonable man, after all."

Helen's expression only grew more incredulous. "There are times when I can almost bring myself to hate you."

"You said you loved me this morning."

"It comes and goes."

Alain laughed at the two. They were like a breath of fresh air with their antics and banter, but obvious love for each other.

Averting his gaze from Helen, Nikola turned to Marko. "So you want Helen to use the same process she did before to derive a serum from your blood?"

Marko glanced at Alain. "No," Alain stepped up to finally explain their proposal. "We want to inject you, Helen, with an untainted sample of my grandfather's blood." He paused, staring directly into Helen's widening eyes. "We want to turn you, and Mr. Tesla, into pure blood vampires. Together, it is our hope that you, _and your children,_ will aid in our race's survival."

Nikola could only stagger into a seat next to Helen. "Well..." he breathed.

She raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "You want to turn me into a vampire? Sanguine Vampiris."

"You have already begun the journey. When you injected yourself. Over time, perhaps you would become, using that method. It stands to reason that the more serum you flooded into your body, the more you would change." Marko corrected her. He waved a hand to indicate Nikola, sitting beside her. "The fact that you derived a serum from our blood meant that the effects, the changes within you were _lessened_ than if you had injected the untainted blood directly into your bloodstream. As it was, the serum was only enough to awaken part of Mr. Tesla's latent vampiric genes whilst the rest of you received singular powers. There is a great possibility that if injected again with an untainted sample, the vampire genes would activate, and you would turn."

Alain continued."As you have lived for over a century with no troubling signs, injecting our blood into you will in effect, accelerate the process, turning you into a pure blood vampire. A _fertile_ vampire. You could be our race's hope for survival, Ms. Magnus."

"There is also the possibility of something going wrong." Helen's breath was shallow as Marko laid out their proposal. "I could have an adverse reaction to the blood or unforeseen complications could arise." Her eyes met his. "I could die."

Nikola laid a hand on Helen's shoulder, feeling the barest tremble. He listened to the conversation with rising concern. Injecting himself was sound; all he was doing, in effect, was re-vamping himself. But Helen...His genius mind went into overdrive, trying to figure out the risks and percentages.

"There is that chance. This is completely unknown." Marko gestured around his lab. "I invite you to read my research and decide for yourself. We will not pressure you, but we cannot deny that you are the perfect person. You and Mr. Tesla could ensure our continued existence."

"What we wish is what any species on this world wishes. To survive. To pass on our genes. "

Feeling overwhelmed and suddenly unable to breathe, Helen unsteadily got to her feet. "I...I need to think about this. I - " She cut herself off and uncharacteristically ran out of the room, her mind spinning.

Marko stopped Nikola as he got up to follow. "I did not mean to upset either of you. I just wanted to lay out the facts and stress how serious this is, for all of us."

Nikola frowned deeply, more troubled by what he had heard than anything else in his life. He said nothing and merely brushed past the two vampires in search of Helen.

He found Helen furiously pacing in their room with her arms wrapped around her. He watched her for a moment. Helen never paced

"This is making history," Helen marveled quietly. "A history fair few will ever know, but...agreeing to this will mean the possible continued survival of the vampire race...or my life." The proposal was so unexpected that Helen was completely off-guard. Seeing and hearing first-hand about the injustices against vampires...knowing that it was no longer about world domination and enslavement, but simply a matter of survival. Helen was conflicted and all she could say was, "They want to turn me into a vampire."

Nikola frowned. "There's nothing wrong with vampires, Helen."

"I know, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Helen hastily said, giving him an apologetic glance that had tinges of panic. "It's just..." Her chest rose and fell with quick breaths that bordered on hyperventilation. The frightened look in her luminous eyes scared him.

He opened his arms and Helen sought peace in them, burying her face in his chest. Nikola tightened his arms around her, feeling Helen's form trembling.

A year ago, ten, twenty, sixty years ago, Nikola could not have imagined this. To have his love returned by Helen and to have her _need_ him. _Really_ need him. Nikola knew his days of wandering alone were over. He nosed his way into her hair and breathed in her scent.

Her fingers clutched at his shirt. Helen's mind whirled with the possibilities of her future. Could she say no? Could she say yes? She pressed herself impossibly closer to Nikola.

Nikola kissed her hair, trailing his way down and coaxing Helen's face up. He could practically see her thoughts going a mile a minute and lowered his lips to hers, hoping to stop her from working herself into a frenzy. His lips were gentle, but passionate against her own and Nikola could feel her tense body relax, giving herself over to the swirl of feelings.

Instant heat flared from just his kiss, pooling in her stomach, Helen's fingers slowly unclenched themselves from Nikola's shirt and slid down his chest and around his back. She clutched at him, fanning that heat into a bonfire.

Without breaking their kiss, Helen pushed Nikola toward the bed where he went willingly. He let her take the pace as they shed their clothes, returning her impish smile with a mischievous smirk of his own.

Tumbling onto the bed, their touches remained gentle; soft caresses of fingers trailing over heated skin, invoking flashes of heated pleasure and dragging moans of bliss from their lips. Helen's smile vanished in lieu of biting her lip, trying quell a cry as Nikola made her forget everything but his hands, his lips on her skin.

Nikola took his time, enjoying Helen's stifled cries, the way her body responded under his touch and that he was all too capable of making her forget all the matters that troubled her, at least for the moment. He drifted over her body with reverence and returning to her lips over and over again for long, lingering kisses that left them both just shy of being dazed.

This sensation, bare skin-on-skin, was still so new, almost unbelievable that Nikola and Helen were still surprised at the heady fire burning inside them for each other, that it could be so _good_ between them if just given the chance.

Helen's hands gripped Nikola's biceps as they toppled over the edge, him following her and swallowing her cry with his lips when they froze in that single moment of pleasure before Nikola groaned and barely managed not to crush Helen under his weight, collapsing beside her.

"My Helen," Nikola murmured, brushing hair from her damp forehead. He tugged her body close while they both tried to get their pounding hearts back to normal.

Helen smiled into his shoulder. Her finger ghosted along his chest, tracing nonsensical patterns on his skin. She was his as surely as he was hers.

Nikola caught Helen's hand as it drifted lower; that passionate fire he felt for her never really extinguishing, merely banking higher again at her touch. His eyes fell shut, relishing the intimacy as he settled over her, burying his face in her neck.

Helen's hands swept over his muscled back, the move firm, sensual, _possessive_, and Nikola growled into her neck before lifting his head. The yearning fire in his eyes reflected back in hers and Helen lifted her face as Nikola lowered his, the two meeting in a deep kiss, allowing that fire to sweep over them again.

As the moon emerged, rising high in the sky, Nikola at last settled behind Helen, spooning her body with hers. He draped an arm over her hip and possessively splayed his hand across her stomach.

Helen lazily played with his fingers. "Thank you." _For being here. _

Nikola yawned, settling in deeper on the bed with her. "Go to sleep." _Always_.

He wanted to reassure her that everything would turn out to be fine, but he couldn't. Nikola couldn't help her in her decision.

This was something Helen had to do on her own.

All Nikola could do was hold her as sleep claimed them.


	10. Chapter 10

Morning found Helen curled up on a love seat, deep in contemplation as she gazed unseeingly at nothing. Only once before in her life did she have to make such a weighty decision that would undoubtedly affect the rest of her life. And that decision to save the Sanctuary Network had cost her Ashley, the life of her daughter.

Now it was her own life she was risking. To once again take the Source Blood within her blood stream, and potentially turn into a vampire.

Or the specially prepared dosage could produce an adverse reaction or complication and Helen could die an excruciatingly painful death. Oh, and there was the fact that the injection could drive her mad with pain – like it had almost done to Nikola all those years ago.

A small part of her could now relate to how Nikola felt months ago when his vampirism was ripped from him, leaving him feeling bereft and floundering. But it wasn't so much her longevity that Helen was attached to, it was what she would be leaving behind in the possibility of her death. Her Sanctuaries were once again under fire; the Abnormals she spent over a century trying to protect were in danger. There was Will, her young and brilliant protege, still so un-experienced. Henry and Bigfoot, her family for the past few years. Kate, the former-mercenary-for-hire still trying to find a place in the world.

And Nikola...

Would he survive her death? He and John, the last of The Five. Helen laughed silently. And at one point not to long ago, with Nikola being de-vamped, Helen had thought she would be the last one standing. Her laughter faded as blue-gray eyes that sparkled mischievously, a grin capable of charming deviousness, soft electrified hair, filtered into her mind.

A tear slipped down her face. Helen had just found love with Nikola. Her heart, long shut away from those kinds of feelings since John's madness, blossomed once again under Nikola cheeky smile and tender hands. Bare weeks spent in this new-found love was hardly enough time – it would never be enough. This decision that felt like mountains on her shoulders threatened to take it all away. If she died, Nikola would be left alone, again, blessed with his vampiric abilities, but cursed to eternally walk his life without her.

Getting up, Helen walked over to the full-length windows and leaned her forehead against the cool glass. What was she supposed to do? Say yes and hope for the best? To take part in preserving one of the greatest Abnormals to walk this earth? She laid a hand against her stomach. Her own children...

Under watchful eyes, her children would grow up and adjust to life as vampires walking amongst humans. To learn to curb their blood-lust and violent tendencies. Nikola would be able to teach them.

Say yes and die? Her own body would turn on her and kill her with complications was the first possibility. The second was to succumb to madness in pain, the vampiric blood overwhelming her, causing her to lash out in insanity. Forcing the others to kill her while Nikola watched on in horror.

"What am I supposed to do?" she whispered, agonized. The sky was blue, reminding her again of Ashley's eyes. "What am I supposed to do?"

It was her life, but her death would have far-reaching ramifications. Could Helen go through with this, trusting those she left behind to carry on without her? Could she inflict that kind of pain on the people she cared about, like the pain she still felt after Ashley?

The utter frustration of the same questions running around her head with no answers had Helen slamming a fist against the glass. Why did this have to be so damn difficult? Helen felt tears welling up, and that same frustration caused them to fall over onto her cheeks. "What am I supposed to do?"

The sky gave her no answers. Her mind was a wreck. Time was ticking.

Pounding against the glass again, with tears of distress falling, Helen slid to the floor, no closer to an answer than she was last night.

From the doorway, Nikola watched Helen crumple in despair. The shake of her shoulders from her silent sobs tore at him.

Clenching his jaw, Nikola crossed the floor, knowing exactly how hard this decision was for her. It was hard for him as well. How could it not be? He could lose the woman he loved with every fiber of his being. The woman he thought, wondered, and fantasized about for more than a century and to finally have her within his arms, loving him back, only to risk losing her was killing him.

Becoming a vampire, a full pure vampire had been a dream of his, so how was it, that his two greatest hopes were becoming reality and he was feeling nothing but anxiety and despair. He would gladly become a vampire, but never at the expense, at the high cost of losing Helen forever.

With no regard to his tailored pants, Nikola knelt beside his love and pulled her into his arms.

Her hands muffled her cries and he pulled them away to look at her.

Red-rimmed eyes that glistened with moisture stared helplessly up at him. "What am I supposed to do?" Helen gazed at him beseechingly, as if pleading Nikola to tell her. Something he could not, would not do. He guided her head to rest against his chest, and they stayed there in that uncomfortable pose, seeking comfort in the other.

"A part of me wants to say yes," Helen wept. "To help save them, I want to say yes." Her hand clutched at Nikola's shirt. "But I might lose you. If I say yes, I might..."

"Die." Nikola finished her sentence in an agonized whisper. "And knowing that tears me apart." He held her closer, Adam's apple bobbing erratically. "If I lost you, I would die inside. Not after I've finally got you. To lose you...my heart couldn't take it."

Helen looked devastated at his words. "What am I supposed to do?"

Tangling his fingers into Helen's brunette locks, Nikola pressed his lips against her hair, staring up at the sky. "It would kill me in all the ways that mattered if this went wrong." He blinked, trying to stop the surge of horrific images of Helen's dead body his mind conjured up. "Marko has done the research, conducted the experiments...Helen," Nikola whispered fiercely into her hair. "I love you. And I'm scared like nothing else that this will go wrong. I'm a man in love with the woman of his dreams, who wants nothing more than to protect her from harm."

He pulled away and cupped Helen's wet face. He searched her eyes. "But you and I, we are also scientists. The combination of the two best and brightest minds this world has ever seen. Everything about this is virtually unknown, but we can try to make sure that this _doesn't_ go wrong, that it is a _success_ instead. You and I, with Marko's research, can make this work. You did it once before, with the Source Blood. You offered us the choice, and we took it.

"Alain, Marko, the others. They're offering us the choice again. I can't make this decision for you," Nikola breathed deeply and pushed past his fears of Helen dying to offer her a meek, encouraging smile. "We took a leap of faith that night. I'm willing to take another, and hope for the best." He tenderly kissed her forehead. "For better or for worse, Helen Magnus, whatever happens, I am always with you." Nikola's eyes blazed with sincere intensity as he vowed again, "I love you. I will never leave you and I will always be with you."

Shaking inside at his words, Helen turned her head to glance at the sky, not a cloud in sight, and her eyes searched for something in the brilliant blue.

Still enclosed in Nikola's arms, she turned back to him. "Yes."

Her heart and her breath stopped. It was done.

* * *

The snakes hissed in annoyance as they weaved to and fro in a hypnotic manner on top of the Gorgon's head. She shut off the vid-phone with a slender hand in the midst of Wexford's rant with a hissed, "I've heard this all before. My answer remains the same."

She gracefully slithered over to the stack of reports that she had been reading when Wexford interrupted her and taking a glance at the pile that never seemed to shrink, the Gorgon murmured, "I'm going to need some Mavrodafni."

Her sea-green eyes seemed to illuminate from within and a cup-holder of pens suddenly turned to stone. The gorgon sighed at the sight, and abandoned the reports. She was in too angry a mood to work.

What was Wexford thinking? Demanding a meeting of Heads to discuss Helen's tenure as head of the Sanctuary Network. Everyone who worked at a Sanctuary owed her. As far as the Gorgon knew, Helen had not only created the network, but financed it as well. _Insolent man_, the venomous snakes on her head seemed to hiss.

The Gorgon had been around a lot longer than he and seen his ilk before. Power-hungry. She sniffed. Just like a man to chafe under a woman's rule, always thinking that he could do better. The Gorgon had lived through times like those in her native Greece.

Wexford wanted to impose strict regulations about Abnormals. Which ones to offer a home to and which ones had to be destroyed for the better of mankind. Like Big Bertha. If Helen said she took care of it, why continue to fuss? The Gorgon lifted her shoulders in a shrug, slithering down to the lab.

There was a time when Gorgons were considered monsters too. Dangerous and only good when dead. Did Wexford want to exterminate her too? Wondering idly how many other house heads Wexford had contacted behind Helen's back. The Gorgon sniffed again. Coward. That's all he was. A power-hungry coward.

It was simply a shame her powers of petrification did not work across vid-phones. And The Gorgon made a mental note to contact Helen soon and inform her to start expecting waves of political trouble crashing her way.

* * *

Chiska and Roze were overjoyed when Helen and Nikola walked into the hall, holding hands, and announced that she would go through with the injection. Alain merely smiled as if he knew Helen had planned to say yes all along.

Marko bustled them down to the lab. The research was as good as it was going to get. Four hours pouring over Marko's sheafs of papers and charts did nothing to calm Helen's nerves. James' voice kept ringing over in her head on that night so long ago.

_'The side-effects are completely unknown.'_ The entire situation was unknown and there was no answer to be found in this mound of data.

Nikola and Marko had long left Helen to her devices, knowing that what she was looking for was not there. Helen would, in James' words, have to 'sprout wings and hope to fly'.

When she finally emerged, and conceded defeat, everyone was waiting patiently; Chiska with a cup of tea. After taking a sip in a futile attempt to calm her nerves, Helen failed in giving an assured smile.

"Shall we do this?"

What she lacked in confidence, Nikola more than made up for in pure reckless fervor. He set his empty wine glass down and reached for her arm. "There's already a room set up for me down the hall."

Only Marko and Alain accompanied them down the hall and Helen gave Nikola an uneasy glance.

"It's safer for me to go first, Helen. We are, in effect, merely revamping me and this way, you can monitor my reactions as it happens to set your mind at ease." Nikola grinned at her. And he wasn't about to let her go first. If something did go wrong, it wouldn't be Helen's life at risk. But Nikola didn't say that.

The room was white and sterile, not unlike her own medical lab back home, but Helen had never viewed the white gurney bed with straps with such trepidation before.

Hopping up onto the bed, Nikola shot her his usual grin, trying to calm the nerves he could see beneath Helen's calm exterior. Lying back, Nikola felt Helen take hold of his hand and he squeezed it in excitement.

He couldn't help it. To be a vampire again, a pure-blooded one at that. It was one of Nikola's greatest wishes come true. That Helen was standing next to him, worry and anxiety warring with the obvious love in her eyes for him was another.

For everyone's safety, Nikola let Marko and Helen secure his wrists and ankles with a solid titanium band keeping his chest down. It was uncomfortable, but from the foggy haze of memories Nikola could recall from the first time, he knew it was needed. Only this time, Helen was with him, throughout it all. He had locked himself away and suffered in silence the first time Nikola felt the shifting changes within. He caught her eye and they shared a brief, unspoken moment before Marko approached. A syringe filled with viscous dark red liquid, with black metallic swirls streaking through it.

"Are you ready?" The vampire looked at both of them.

"Wait." Nikola halted Marko and took a small breath, squeezing Helen's hand again. "If you don't mind, Marko, I'd like to have Helen do the honors," he smirked at her, "just like the last time, right love?"

She looked at him and gave a small smile.

"Kiss me? Just in case." Nikola flashed a grin at her. His eyes showed no fear at anything going wrong. Why should it? He was merely re-vamping himself.

Nevertheless, Helen frowned at him. "You're not exactly instilling confidence in me here." But drawn to his mischievous eyes and irresistible grin, Helen dipped her head to hover over his lips, swerving at the last moment to peck his cheek lightly.

"Tease."

Accepting the syringe from Marko, Helen took a deep breath. Positioning the needle at the crook of his elbow, Helen glanced one last time at him, in a reversal of the first time, and asked silently if he was ready.

Nikola's smirk remained as his eyes glittered with excitement.

That smirk vanished as the needle pierced his skin and Nikola's eyes slammed shut.

* * *

A/N: *mutters frustratedly* Stupid fanfiction and their stupid page breaks...Thanks for reading! ^_~


	11. Chapter 11

The grip Nikola had on her hand tightened and Helen watched in horror what the blood was putting him through, strapped down and helpless. His jaw clenched in agony, trying to hold it all in. She bit her lip to hold in her pained cry as Nikola's grip became painful and Marko moved to gently pry her hand out of his, recognizing Nikola becoming too far gone in the painful transformation to realize he was hurting her.

Their attention snapped back to Nikola as he suddenly arched up against the band keeping him down. His eyes were tightly shut and his teeth were gritted. "Ni -" Helen began only to see the veins bulge in his throat as Nikola let out a pained yell through clenched teeth.

"Helen, you shouldn't be too close," Marko cautioned, placing a hand on her elbow and pulled her away. "He might hurt you without knowing."

Helen watched apprehensively as Nikola twisted and writhed, fighting against his restraints as wanting to curl into a fetal position, trying to block out the pain surging inside.

The blood was doing exactly what it was supposed to; it was changing him. Dimly, beneath the pain, some part of Nikola clinically noted the slight differences in the process. The pain was so much more, since this was no serum, but there was none of the frightful panic he had felt the first time. He was becoming a vampire once more and Nikola let out another stifled yell.

He fought against the restraints, struggling. It was contradictory, really. A chill swept through him as the blood raced through his system, filling every vein and crevice, while at the same time, following along, a fiery pain savaged his insides. Surging through him, it was too much to block out and Nikola could do nothing to escape it.

He was changing.

Blue eyes fearfully flitted from Nikola's heart monitor to the man himself and as his vitals spiked, so did Helen's, in fear.

"Come Helen, Nikola will most likely be like this for a while now," Marko bade her.

Helen had no intention of leaving. "I am not leaving." She hadn't been aware of Nikola's suffering the first time, and she would not make the same mistake.

By this time, Nikola's struggles were becoming more violent, thrashing in the small bed so much that it shook and threatened to overturn. The pain was making him mindless and Helen couldn't stop the upsetting cringes at his tortured shout.

Danel slipped into the room, pausing at the sight of Nikola, looking as if he were being subjected to a most gruesome torture at the hands of an invisible, sadistic foe. He tapped Helen hesitantly on the shoulder, calling her name softly when that failed to break her out of her riveted stare on her paramour. "I discovered something you should see."

Nikola jerked, arching his back as much as possible, letting out a cry. Helen took an instinctive step forward, arm outstretched as if wanting to comfort him.

"Helen..." Danel gently tried to draw the resisting woman away to show her his laptop. He set it down on one of Marko's many metal tables and tried to draw Helen's fixated eyes to the screen. "I hacked into the Sanctuary's system."

Tearing her eyes off Nikola, writhing in continued agony, Helen arched an eyebrow at the vampire. "_My _Sanctuary's system?" When she returned to Old City, Helen would have to introduce Danel to Henry and put a stop to all this hacking.

"Well, no." Danel looked sheepish. "The New York Sanctuary, not Old City; the firewalls there are a bit more complicated. That's where the originating message came from, after all. I tapped into the system and retrieved a copy of the message." The vampire angled the laptop to face the screen in Helen's direction. "I have a feeling that you're not going to like it."

What else was this week going to throw at her? Helen felt heavy and tired under all these surprises. Was it really only last week that she and Nikola had been enjoying themselves? It was simply becoming too much. Dealing with Ashley's death, mercenaries after her life, the Cabal, the re-emergence of vampires, flinching at Nikola's sporadic shouts of pain...

Helen was near her breaking point.

The familiar-gilled face of Terrence Wexford popped up on the screen and Helen cringed at the sight. She had a feeling things were about to get worse.

"Fellow heads, as the head of house for the New York Sanctuary, it is within my right to call to order a council meeting to take place within the next few days. Some of you have already heard the topic I wish to discuss, but for those of you who don't, I wish to call an order of abdication of Old City House Head, Helen Magnus, from control over the Sanctuary Network."

Helen's eyes widened. In shock, in outrage.

"Some of you may not be aware of Dr. Magnus' sudden abandonment of her Sanctuary nearly three weeks ago. No attempt at communication has been heard from her or her staff, and one must assume," Wexford spread his hands, "that her Sanctuary is running unsupervised and amok. This is simply unacceptable for those in charge of watching over the Abnormals in our care. Dr. Magnus has placed the lives of her staff and indeed that of the entire city in danger with her reckless abandonment.

"These actions, along with past mistakes, must be discussed. Dr. Magnus' behavior and her frame of mind is becoming an endangerment to both Abnormals and humans, the ones we are supposed to protect. Each of you are obligated to attend this meeting, or your votes will count in favor."

"What!" Helen's blue eyes flashed. "That arrogant, back-stabbing, pompous...How - " Struggling to rein in her anger, Victorian upbringing demanded controlled composure at all times, but her fingers unconsciously gripped a pen on the table like a knife.

Danel blinked at her.

"Reckless! My frame of mind!" Helen looked ready to kill. That little son-of-a- When Helen had first met Wexford, he had been a shabby, dirty homeless man, digging up insects to eat in a park!

Fury coursed through her, leaving her slightly shaking. What she wouldn't give for a loaded gun and five minutes alone with Terrence Wexford trussed up like a turkey.

"There's more." Danel, at that point, had to stifle a smile. Judging by look of ire in her face, Helen Magnus was a dangerous woman. She'd probably make an even more dangerous vampire.

He minimized the window that held the face Helen would like nothing more than to eviscerate and called up a series of emails sent within the network to Wexford. Danel thought the man had a death wish.

Moscow, Russia - Luka Ivanov was dead, murdered. The prime suspect was his assistant who had mysteriously vanished. In Rio de Janeiro, it was the same. Paulo Mendoza's son had discovered his father murdered in his office. That Sanctuary had suffered a mysterious security breach.

Two heads were dead. More than that, they had been assassinated. In the safety of their Sanctuaries.

It made sense to her now. The Cabal was all about contingency plans. Infiltrate and assassinate from within and Helen realized that she had stymied the plans for her own demise when she had upped and vanished from Old City. The Cabal must've hired independent hit men to find her and kill her. The man in the villa, at the train station, in the alley before Alain saved them.

And Wexford was using this as more fodder with which to show how unfit she was to run the network. Back-stabbing, manipulative son-of-a-...

Helen liked to think that she could trust those around her to do a good job, to have a passion in protecting all abnormals as she did. Clearly, for some, political maneuvering held more interest. Her eyes narrowed. While she preferred to take a passive approach in dealing with her staff, Helen didn't get to where she was without being shrewd. She glanced down at the laptop. It was about time for Wexford and everyone else to learn that.

Stepping outside, and seeing just the man she was looking for, Helen waved Alain over. "Can you do me a favor?" Alain tilted his head questioningly. "I've been thinking..." He listened as Helen explained what she needed him to do and why before he smiled. Bowing his head, Alain said, "I'll see to it now. We should have a response in a few days." He peered at her thoughtfully. "You are a good woman, Ms. Magnus. Perhaps too good?"

Helen sighed, turning back to the door. "You would think that after so long I would not be, but I am what I am."

Laying a fleeting hand on her shoulder, Alain left.

Helen turned back to the room, passing Danel and Marko as they left and focusing back on the most important thing right now. Nikola's life. Looking at his feverish body, he truly was more important to her than her Sanctuaries. Of course, she would never tell him that; he'd be even more unbearable than ever.

The rest of the day passed along with the night with no changes. Helen took to wiping the perspiration off Nikola's forehead that dampened his hair between soft kisses pressed to his clammy skin. His struggles had lessened and his vitals remained steady, but Nikola still twitched violently and Helen could only hope that the man she so recently admitted to loving would wake soon. To have him send that smile of his that got her shivering, to look at her with those eyes that made her smile...

Morning approached, finding Helen with her head drooping in exhaustion, seated up close to Nikola's bed. The door opened and she sluggishly turned to see Alain and Marko entering.

"You should rest, Helen," Alain admonished lightly. "If you are to follow in Nikola's footsteps, you will need much energy and strength."

Helen gave a tired smile, standing to stretch and letting Marko examine Nikola. She was too drained. "I need to see if he's all right."

"Your love for each other is commendable."

"It wasn't always that way." Helen tenderly cradled Nikola's hand between her own. "I didn't even know he loved me until last year, and I hadn't even thought of him like that." Her thumb caressed his sweaty skin, still feeling Nikola's unconscious body trembles. "We're complicated."

Alain smiled gently. "But well worth it."

Helen returned his smile, happiness shining through her exhaustion. "Definitely."

"You should rest," Marko repeated Alain's words, finishing his examination of Nikola and looking quite satisfied.

"I'm...well, not fine, but I can last a little longer." Helen re-took her seat, glancing up at the two. "I've gone without sleep for a few days. My maximum was a week, I timed it."

"Will you at least have something to eat?" Alain asked while Marko looked unimpressed.

Helen gave a tired smile. "I can definitely do that...provided I can eat in here."

Marko looked exasperated while Alain chuckled.

"I don't mean to be difficult, but Nikola and I have been apart for many years. Of course, that is his fault and when we did see each other, something always went wrong. Also always his fault."

A groan that sounded like a weak protest filtered through the air and Helen felt the barest squeeze on her hand. She spun around, hair flying.

"Nikola!" Helen pushed Marko aside and cupped his sweaty face. Searching his glazed eyes desperately, Helen murmured breathlessly, "Nikola? Are...are you alright?" She waited, holding her breath and feeling her heart pounding. His eyelids fluttered, the eyes that she loved so much, flitted in disorientation. Helen noted how his body still shook with occasional tremors and his clothes were soaked with sweat. She lifted a trembling hand and brushed back his damp hair and lightly kissed his forehead. "Nikola," she whispered desperately. "I love you."

Nikola groaned again and his head flopped lightly from side to side on the pillow. But her heart lifted to hear his raspy whisper, barely audible, "You have no idea," his throat was raw, and Helen gasped, jerking to look at him, "how long..." His eyes were barely focused on her, drugged and weak, they rolled before sliding shut.

Marko was checking his vitals while Alain looked proud. Their small number had gained another; provided all went well with Helen's injection, their race stood a chance.

"He's sleeping, exhausted," Marko reported, wearing a satisfied expression. "It was to be expected. His body and mind just underwent an exhausting ordeal. I believe he's out of danger now." He looked pointedly at Helen.

"I'm not leaving." Helen looked obstinate.

Sighing exasperatingly, while Alain looked on with indulgence, Marko said to Helen, "If I bring another bed in here, will you at least sleep on that?" He shook his head and walked off even as Helen agreed.

"Complicated, but definitely well worth it," Alain repeated, squeezing Helen's shoulder. "We're one step closer, Helen." He stepped out of the room, presumably to tell the others the good news.

Marko soon returned and pointed a stern finger at the bed with a tray of food on top of it. "Eat. Sleep."

"Is it okay to remove the restraints now?" Helen knew Nikola would hate waking up to them. He disliked being confined longer than necessary. "I would also like to change his clothes."

Nodding after a moment, Marko said, "That should be fine. He'll be too weak to do much of anything. I'll leave you to that then." Marko smirked at Helen, who shot him a cheeky smile, before he left.

Helen caught snippets of sleep, but her ears were sharply attuned to even the slightest rustle coming from Nikola's bed. His restraints had been removed and Helen had exchanged Nikola's sweat-soaked clothes for clean, dry ones, forcing herself not to blush. She was over one hundred and fifty and a medical professional! Still, the sight of Nikola's bare torso brought a schoolgirl feeling over her. Helen laughed wryly. It was safe to say that she would never tire of living with Nikola in her life. The man was a constant whirlwind of surprises.

The day passed with no movement or sound from Nikola and it was this that kept Helen's heart spiked with fear. Only the sight of Nikola awake, stable, and coherent would calm her, would calm that anxious tingling thrumming through her.

A groan in the dawning hours of the next day had Helen popping up in her bed like a jack-in-the-box. Swinging her legs over, she hurried over to Nikola's side as he slowly awoke. "Nikola?" Helen's whisper was hopeful.

His face scrunched as he fought for wakefulness before Nikola's eyes blinked groggily open. The familiar blue-gray pupils staring up at her. "Beautiful," he croaked before letting out a soft groan and struggling to get up. Helen wanted to protest, but knew she'd just be waved off, instead she watched Nikola's fumbled attempts. He swore under his breath a couple of times, feeling his muscles object, unable to believe how weak he felt.

"We'll have to get you checked out and then straight onto your medication," Helen said.

Nikola gingerly sat up, wincing as he slowly moved his joints. He looked pale and wan, a far cry from his usual put-together self. His hair was disheveled and matted in some places while his battered body gave irregular shakes. He looked vulnerable and fragile.

"Back to the medication," Nikola sighed melodramatically in a scratchy voice. "I have to admit, I'm going to miss the food." He tugged Helen closer to stand in between his legs and Nikola wrapped his arms around her.

Laying his forehead against her shoulder, Nikola allowed himself to lean on her. He was more wrung out than he was trying to let on and he knew that Helen could feel his body giving off occasional trembles. This had happened the first time too, and Nikola knew he'd be back to his usual arrogant self within a few hours. For now, he was content to find strength and warmth in Helen's soothing embrace.

"I should go alert the others."

"Not just yet," Nikola mumbled, inhaling her sweet scent. "Not just yet."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Gah, sorry for the wait! Had a minor family thing to take care of. Thanks to all reading, reviewing and now it's Helen's turn. I wonder if she'll survive it? I don't know; I've been known to unexpectedly kill off people...Mwaha. Enjoy!

* * *

Two hours and fifty-seven minutes from Rome, a plane touched down on cracked tarmac.

Similarly elsewhere, eleven hours and twenty-five minutes, another plane taxied down a runway.

Both planes carried a single passenger, bearing a very important message and an equally important task.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Helen screamed again.

Nikola caught one flailing arm before it smacked him in the face and forced it down onto the bed where he strapped it down tightly. She bucked against the restraint and Nikola clenched his jaw as another scream tore from her throat.

Blue-gray eyes that failed to mask his fear glanced up at the two men struggling to help strap Helen down. Their faces were blank, but Marko caught his worried glance and smiled reassuringly. "You were just the same in the first few hours."

"Was my heart rate that high?"

"Somewhere there-abouts." That it wasn't a specific answer only worried Nikola more. He had come out of this all right and should be elated at the fact that he was back to big, bad vampiric -_ready to kick ass and take over the world_- self.

Helen clutching his hand in excruciating pain shoved those feelings to the back of his mind. At the minute of the injection, Nikola had a fleeting hope that Helen wouldn't experience the body-wracking torture he did when she merely had a fleeting seizure. That hope blasted away when Helen lay one moment smiling tentatively at him and the next was doubling over in pain, her mouth stretched in a silent scream.

Two hours in and Nikola broke, silently confessing that he had never been as frightened as he was at this moment.

Helen's body, strapped down and trapped, buckled and shook with pain. He could only imagine the icy tremors racing through her veins followed by the searing burn of the Source Blood, tearing its way through her body, intent on either destroying her or re-making her.

Nikola prayed to God it was the latter.

Her grip tightened almost painfully on his hand as Helen convulsed against the tight restraints confining her to the gurney. Tears leaked from the corner of her tightly-squeezed eyes and Nikola lifted a shaky hand to stroke her sweat-soaked hair, murmuring nonsensical words. His lips pressed against her damp forehead.

Entering the third hour and Nikola's eyes glistened at the sound of Helen's voice, going hoarse with constant screaming. He pressed another kiss to her heated skin. Was it as horrible for her to watch him go through this as it was for him right now?

It must have been. Must have torn her heart out and punched her in the chest to see Nikola like he was seeing her now, her face screwed up in pain. It was an expression Nikola never liked to see on Helen's face. Combined with her tears and sudden jerks for the freedom to curl up instinctively, made the lump in Nikola's throat hard to swallow.

Whatever he had been expecting, it was not this.

Nikola had let his excitement get the better of him. The thought of Helen potentially dying had been dim in the recesses of his mind, shoved away by his becoming a vampire again, newer and better; by Helen becoming a vampire, more of an equal than ever, and the image of he and Helen standing together, practically invincible in their new visages.

Even as he had injected the blood into Helen, a near image of the first time, Nikola had been caught up in the moment. Stark reality hit him as he watched Helen jerking in agony now. She could die. And he would, once again, be back to an immortal life, without her.

Nikola's heart wrenched as Helen pleaded with him. Marko and Alain had retreated from the room, leaving him alone to witness the sight of Helen's painfully writhing body. "Make it stop! Oh God...Nikola! Please! It hurts, Nikola, it hurts!"

His face crumpled, only now, alone, with checked tears. Helen's beautiful blues shot open, blindly seeking him out, pleading and Nikola wanted to turn his face away. Helen begging him to stop the pain was something his heart could barely take.

But this was the woman he loved, had loved for over a century, finally his. And as much as Nikola wanted to turn away, he was standing, bent over her, and whispering how much he loved her, while trying to ignore the violent spasms that swept through her body.

She screamed again, cracked as her vocal cords became raw. "Nikola!"

Nikola shut his eyes. "Nikola, make it stop! Something's wrong! Please!" Those tears pooled in his eyes as he soothed her.

"Shh, Helen. Everything will be alright, I promise. It'll be over soon." He hoped those words hadn't made him a liar. He kissed her sweaty skin.

Her body shook with tremors, straining against her confinements. Helen whimpered through clenched teeth and Nikola likened her pain to the kind he felt down in his ancestors' labyrinth, struggling through that tunnel with the Earth's electricity searing every pore of his body. Only this was a longer tunnel, and Helen's pain seemed never-ending.

Squeezing her hand, Nikola whispered, "Do you remember, back at Oxford, the day you first talked to me? You were watching me feed pigeons underneath a tree. I pretended to ignore you before you came up to me, wearing a blue dress that brought out your eyes, and promptly asked if I had named each and every one of them since I cared about them so much." Nikola chuckled, smoothing back her hair, pressing a kiss to her sweaty skin, ignoring the tears. "I ignored you for the next two weeks, until you finally broke me down out of pure exasperation.

"I remember asking you why you persisted in bothering me so much. And you said," he swallowed. "You said that you saw something in me that made you want to be my friend." Nikola's eyes blinked back tears. "I didn't have any friends; no one understood me and I had alienated myself. But...but I had no idea how badly I wanted a true friend until you came along and showed me. You stayed with me, despite my off-putting flaws. You stayed with me, Helen." Nikola kissed her again, silently imploring her to fight against the pain. "Now I'll stay with you. Just please, don't leave me alone."

Helen gave no sign of even hearing him, with her eyes closed and body shaking. Her hand clutched desperately at his. Her mouth opened silently as her body gave a particularly sharp seizure that nearly broke her ribs from the pressure of straining against the straps before collapsing back on the sweat-soaked bed and going utterly still.

A first.

"Helen?" Nikola straightened, eyes suddenly attentive -_and fearful_- shot to the heart monitor. "No!" His lanky legs blurred him to the door where he slammed it open. "**Marko**!" Nikola bellowed before sweeping back to the bed and carefully inspecting Helen's vitals. Frantic fingers checked her pulse; nothing pulsed under his fingers, not even a glacially slow pound. He lifted her eyelids. "Helen?" he said frantically. "Helen! Helen, don't do this to me...please, _don't do this to me_!" Nikola grabbed her shoulders and shook her wildly.

_Don't do this to me, don't do this to me, don't leave me, don't...Helen! **No**!  
_

She was cold, clammy, and pale. The pale pallor of death.

Marko barreled into the room and surveyed Helen's suddenly limpid body, unceremoniously smacking Nikola's wild hands away. "Is she -?"

"She's flat-lined," Nikola bit out tersely, feeling wet tears slide down his cheeks. Some part of him cracked into pieces. Something within died. He seemed frozen, shattered for a moment as he stared at Helen's still body.

The older vampire checked Helen's pulse, examining her. "I just did that," Nikola cried, his panic, anger, helplessness, rising. Marko ignored him and checked everything, ran diagnostics, before stepping back.

"It may be part of her reaction to the blood. We won't lose her now, Nikola," he stated. "Help me loosen her clothing and let's take these straps off, now. We'll resuscitate her. Quickly!"

Nikola was obeying those orders in a flash. He practically tore the confining straps off while Marko grabbed some things from a cabinet. "My research indicated this may happen."

"_Death_? Really? Now why doesn't that make me feel better?" Perhaps it was because his change was still new or more likely, because it was Helen, Nikola's mischievous eyes darkened to black as he angrily replied. Those eyes watched as Marko worked, injecting Helen and for those brief seconds, Nikola's world was at a standstill.

She couldn't leave him. She couldn't. Not now. Not ever.

A sudden slow blip of her heartbeat on the monitor that grew more steady appeared, and Marko slowly relaxed as Helen's body regained momentum. Nikola was still teetering on borderline panic, hands clenched in fists. A part of him wouldn't piece itself together until Helen was awake, stable, and enfolded in his arms.

"She's fine, Nikola. Well, not fine," Marko amended at a fiery look from the newest vampire. "But out of danger, it looks like. I've spent my whole life researching this, Helen looked over everything. She's a strong woman and we're not going to lose her. Trust me."

Nikola didn't, of course. He didn't trust anyone, except himself and Helen. He ran a hand through his already disheveled hair and grimaced at the feel of the lank strands.

Marko laughed quietly into the silence of the room and Nikola looked at him, wondering what could possibly be funny about any of this. "You two are two sides of the same coin. Cynical, optimistic. Carefree, worrisome. Driven. Passive. And yet so in love with each other that you cannot bear to even leave the room." Marko gestured. "We're not going to lose her, Nikola. Go freshen up. It will only take a few minutes. I've got the situation under control here, and could do without you breathing down my neck. Metaphorically, of course."

He was right, obviously. For a vampire, Nikola felt exhausted. Marko seemed to have everything in hand and Helen's heart-rate was climbing to a steady pace. Her eyelids were fluttering and her body was moving sluggishly. Nikola's hand came up to brush tears off his face. He probably looked horrible. Helen would tease him mercilessly if she saw.

With a hesitant glance back at her, Nikola stepped out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom. Locking himself inside, Nikola leaned against the door and covered his face with his hands, releasing a shuddering breath.

He couldn't lose Helen, he just couldn't.

He loved her too much to be without her. Nikola struggled to contain all these unfamiliar emotions plaguing him in the past few days than in his entire life. And it was all tied to the vivacious beautiful woman currently fighting for her life down the hall. Only she could make him such a wreck.

Running a hand down his face, Nikola moved to stare at himself in the mirror. He looked ashen. His hair was a disheveled mess from running worried fingers through it and his eyes were red-rimmed.

There was no sign of the meticulously fine-dressed man who breezed his way through this world, invincible. That man had fled when the danger to Helen's life came precariously close to its end. That man dissolved in the face of Helen's screaming throes of agony, replaced by the man who'd been in love with her since practically the first sight and wanted nothing more than to take her away from the world and make love all the days of their lives.

Turning on the faucet, Nikola splashed his face with cold water, hoping to shock some strength back into him. Helen still lived, and he had hope that she would get through this. He remembered his own transformation back in the days of Oxford.

If she had been aware of the agonizing pain he'd gone through, Helen would have stayed with him when he was seized by the wracking changes to his body. His eyesight, his changed senses, the clawed hands, the electrical thrumming underneath his skin that sometimes threatened to burst out of his flesh, and the blood lust. That overwhelming urge to tear into someone's skin and drink, to hear that seductive call of blood pulsing.

Nikola grabbed a towel off the rack and vigorously scrubbed his face. Helen needed him to be there for her. Always the two of them together was how it was in his mind. They'd been friends before The Five ever existed, and they would continue to exist afterward.

Tossing the towel back onto the rack, Nikola glanced one more time at himself before unlocking the door and stepping out.

Marko was running in his direction. A look of urgency on his pale face. "Nikola! It's Helen!"

His heart plummeted.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Been cooking all day! From Canada, Happy Thanksgiving today! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and read! Enjoy! *uploads chapter...and then ducks, grinning*

* * *

Will Zimmerman found himself in the odd position of being bored. He hadn't taken part in some death-defying abnormal adventure, nor had his life been in danger for the past few weeks. And dare he say that he was fast becoming accustomed to life at the Sanctuary.

He walked around the carpeted corridors, hands shoved into his pockets, for lack of anything else to do. This place had managed fine before he came and his primary job was to assist Magnus with whatever hijinks she was up to that day.

She'd been gone for nearly two weeks. And showed no signs of returning. Will wondered, not for the first time, how she was dealing.

For all that she was his teacher, his mentor, his friend, Helen Magnus would always remain an enigma. The woman had more than one hundred years of history behind her and Will doubted he would ever truly understand her.

His wayward walk led him to her office. Empty, but still warm and inviting. Papers and files were neatly stacked on top of her desk, reports of abnormal sightings waiting for her return with comics Henry had sneaked in that he thought she would find funny.

Will stood in the middle of the room and just stared at the big wood desk, contemplating. He hoped he never had to sit in that chair, behind that desk, ever. Magnus' shoes were too big to be filled by anyone and Will selfishly hoped that Magnus would never disappear. No one wanted to admit it, but this place would fall apart without her.

The phone rang and Will, startled, merely blinked at it for a moment. Who would be calling here? He fleetingly hoped it would be Magnus herself, but figured she wouldn't be calling when she could just come home from wherever she had vanished to.

"Hello?" Even using her desk phone was slightly intimidating.

"Which one of the children are you?"

Will frowned and looked at the receiver, that question sounded vaguely familiar. "This is Dr. Zimmer - Tesla?" It suddenly hit him. Nikola Tesla calling them children when they thought he had betrayed them to the trust-fund vampire brats. "Why are you calling?" Will was slightly surprised, and fervently hoped that the ex-vampire hadn't gotten into any trouble, again. He was bored, true, but not that bored.

"Can you get in touch with the rest of the Sanctuary Network?"

"What for?" Was it just him, or did Tesla sound...not quite the arrogant jerk he usually was? In fact, he sounded -

"_Can you or can't you?_"

Distraught. Will winced as the man yelled at him through the phone, pulling his ear away. Concern rumbled within him as he placed the phone back to his ear. "...I-I can contact Declan, over at the London Sanctuary. Why? Tesla, what's happened?"

There was a silent, ominous pause before Tesla's voice whispered despairingly, "It's Helen." Another heavy pause and Will's concern morphed into rising alarm. He gripped the phone, listening intently to Tesla's voice. "Helen...Helen...she...I can't..."

"Tesla," Will asked carefully, trying to ignore the pounding in his ribcage. "What's happened to Magnus?" _Please, don't let it be too bad. Please, don't let it be too bad. Please._

"She's dead." Tesla's voice was broken and Will could hear him choking on tears. "She's gone. My Helen, my beautiful Helen." Tesla sounded as if he collapsed to the ground. "It wasn't supposed to be this way. I wasn't supposed to lose her. My immortal goddess, my blonde light...my love..."

Will too, collapsed into the chair he always sat in when he visited Magnus' office, unable to believe what Tesla was telling him. Gone? Magnus was gone? His teacher, his friend...He stared at the empty chair behind the desk and couldn't imagine her not sitting there. His eyes welled up with tears, listening to Tesla cry on the other side of the phone. "H-how? What...Why...Tesla, _how?_"

Tesla continued to cry, something Will thought he would never hear; the closest he had seen the man distressed was when he lost his vampirism, and even then, Tesla seemed to bounce back. "She went to her villa, I followed, trouble showed up...my Helen's gone. They...they..." Tesla cut himself off, swallowing hard. And when he spoke again, Will recognized the tell-tale signs of anger. "I want you to contact that Declan and I want you to arrange for the Heads of each Sanctuary to gather at Old City in six days time, do you understand me, Dr. Expendable? It's a simple enough request, I trust you have enough brain cells to accomplish this." Tesla's anger was building and in a classic sign of grief, was lashing out at the world and those he perceived were responsible for the loss of a loved one.

Will dropped his head into his hand, wiping away tears, and still feeling his world tilt. "Why, Tesla? And how did - " Will couldn't finish his question, the lump in his throat only got bigger. "They won't believe you, you know. They don't trust you and they won't take your word."

Tesla growled, in a way that Will almost believed the man hadn't lost his vampiric powers. "You want proof? You contemptuous obtuse boy! How dare you! I always thought Helen needed to keep a better leash on her insubordinate cadre. They want proof? They need beatings instead! Oh, but don't worry," Tesla breathed hotly, his abusive words spewing furiously and crazily. "I'll gladly volunteer to be the one to do so. They want proof? Insolent curs, all of you. _My Helen was better than all of you!_ She was pure and light, caring and compassionate..._and you all leeched onto her like viruses!_"

Will identified the madness in Tesla's voice and he feared for the man's continued mental state. Magnus' death seemed to have snapped him as he vacillated between sadness and anger. Will inhaled sharply at how an already insane John Druitt would react.

"You have mail." Tesla's sudden calm low voice was deadly, as if he had already snapped and his madness was focused intently in one direction. The Sanctuary Network. And everyone associated with it. "Six days. You have six days to get everyone to Old City before I arrive."

"Why are you doing this?" Will's voice was a whisper.

Tesla paused once more. "Because it was Helen's last wishes," he spoke desolately before that unnatural calm voice returned. "Protégé or not, you will never be able to fill Helen Magnus' shoes."

Tesla hung up.

With tear streaks on his cheeks, and his world tilted off its axis, Will dashed out of Magnus' office with a two-fold purpose. To gather the gang and see if there was a slim chance Tesla wasn't playing a bad practical joke, and the air in Magnus' office was rife with memories.

Running into Henry's work area, where he and Kate were arguing about something, and dragging an irritated Bigfoot by the wrist behind him, the three looked at Will's devastated face with trepidation.

"What's up, man?" Henry and Kate silently called a halt to their nonsensical argument.

"Gotta' check my email. I just got the most disturbing call, and I hope to God, it was just a joke done in bad taste." Will unceremoniously pushed Henry away from his computer and rapidly typed away.

"Who was the call from?" Kate asked, looking curious, unconcerned, and still puzzled.

"Tesla."

The three looked at each other and unanimously replied, "Bad joke."

Will just shook his head. He was a psychologist; even without being face-to-face, Tesla's voice was too distraught to be faked, that anger, that despair, those tears, that heartbreak...

_His blonde goddess. His light, his love..._

His inbox had a single new email. Untitled. From an unknown sender.

Will's hand trembled as he clicked it. Henry, Kate, and Bigfoot crowding behind him, unsuspecting.

"Oh my God!" Henry cried out, jumping from his seat and backing away from the screen. He turned away, clapping a hand over his mouth and squeezing his eyes shut to try to purge the picture seared into his mind.

Bigfoot growled and his fingers dug into the metal table, creating permanent indents. His eyes blazed with sorrowful anger. "How did this happen?" he rumbled.

Will couldn't answer him as he staggered on his feet, his stomach dropping. "Magnus..."

They stared at the still picture on the screen of Helen Magnus lying, unmoving, on what was once a pristine white medical bed, that was now spattered with blood. Her hair fanned the small pillow, limp with sweat while her face lay in repose.

With her wrists and ankles callously restrained, the blood staining the mattress in vivid red seeped from a gaping open wound on Helen's chest. The dark red, almost black blood was everywhere, smearing her fair skin in a horrific, nightmarish manner. Droplets dotted her neck and face while her shirt was literally soaked with viscous blood.

Whomever killed Helen wanted to her to die in a most painful way.

She lay helpless in her final hours of life.

Even hard Kate felt herself trembling at the gruesome sight.

They practically massacred her. Even the Cabal, with one of their top priorities to take out the indomitable Helen Magnus, wouldn't do this. Kate turned to Henry, hunched over and stifling his sobs, and she went over to him and uncharacteristically pulled him into a hug. And if a few tears of her own slipped out, it didn't matter.

Bigfoot grabbed Will by his shirt and got into his face. "Who did this?"

Shaking his head despairingly, Will said, "I-I don't know. Tesla called Magnus' phone a few minutes ago and told me." He swallowed hard as his one last hope that Tesla was playing a very mean practical joke on them was crushed. He laid a commiserating hand on Bigfoot's wrist. "He was crying and angry, but he didn't tell me who."

"That jerk was crying?" Kate looked at him with an upset face.

"Magnus was at her villa, he followed her there," Will relayed what little information the overwrought and crazed man gave him. He continued to stare at the sight of his mentor and friend as if waiting to see her get up, smile, and yell 'surprise!'. "He said trouble found them. That's all. He- He wants me to contact Declan and arrange a face-to-face gathering of all the Sanctuary Heads." He took a shuddering breath. "He's coming in six days. Something about Magnus' last wishes."

"He's got to be lying!" Henry burst out, throwing off Kate's arms. His scruffy face was pale and his eyes bloodshot. "And this," he pointed a hysterical finger at the screen, "this is fake! It has to be! The doc can't be dead! She just can't..." Not after losing Ashley too. "It's wrong," Henry spoke determinedly, grabbing his seat and clicking away at his keyboard, analyzing the grisly photo. "I'll prove it. You'll see."

The three exchanged glances before Kate laid a tentative hand on Henry's shoulder. "I'll stay with you."

Will and Bigfoot desolately walked away, trying to deal with this massive blow to their lives. What were they to do now that the one who held them all together was gone?

"Are you going to contact Declan?" Bigfoot huffed in that manner of his.

Will kept wiping tears off his face with his sleeve. "I should. Tesla's coming in six days and he didn't sound like he expected anything less than what he asked for." His voice was becoming cracked with emotion.

The shaggy abnormal glanced at Will. "Do you think he's telling the truth?"

Will halted in the middle of the carpeted corridor and faced his friend. "As much as I wish he wasn't, Tesla was crying. Genuinely upset. He sounded broken, big guy. He...He said he loved her." Will became overwhelmed for a moment and looked down at the carpet to gather his composure. "He called Magnus 'his blonde light', his 'love'. Tesla was just destroyed inside. And despite being the kind of guy he is, he would never, _never_ joke about Magnus." The tears ran faster.

"Then you should call Declan. As Tesla said it was her last wishes."

"Yeah," Will rasped out. He nodded shakily. "Yeah." He clapped a hand on Bigfoot's arm before taking a deep breath and marching toward Magnus' office once more.

When Helen Magnus died, she took a piece of each of them with her.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

One of the greatest figures in history was gone.

Declan McCrae sat pensively at his desk, the desk that had previously belonged to his mentor, James Watson, and stared at the black screen that he had just shut off. Magnus' protégé looked devastatingly lost and Declan knew exactly how he felt. He had gone through the same whirlwind of emotion when James finally died.

James Watson was more than a mentor, more than a father-figure to him. His presence was a corner of solid foundation in Declan's life and a part of him prayed everyday, that James' suit that maintained his life would never fail. Another part of his wished, somewhat wistfully, that it had been James Watson, and not Helen Magnus, who had been gifted with longevity.

But now, she was gone too. Another great figure, largely unheralded, taken away.

Declan's eyes slid shut and he rested his elbows on his desk, bringing his hands together in contemplation. Magnus' death was bound to create a power vacuum. Who would lead the Sanctuary Network? Declan snorted silently. He knew who wanted to be in that head position and as much as Declan disliked the man on a personal level, Wexford did have the experience. Logically speaking, the Head with the longest tenure would be selected. That was the Gorgon in Greece, Chile, South Africa, and New York, Wexford.

The Gorgon was unsuitable and she had no want for the position anyway, South Africa was an old abnormal who seemed to dislike the advancing age of technology, and Chile was just not as politically-savvy as Wexford. Declan frowned. What was it about the abnormal man that seemed to sway so many people, even himself at times, to his way of thinking? Wexford was not a striking charismatic figure, like James, Magnus, or even that Tesla fellow, and his words were often lace with a megalomaniac tone that put Declan off when speaking to him across distances. So what was it about Terrance Wexford?

Declan sighed and opened his eyes. There was other business at hand. A part of him couldn't believe that Helen Magnus was dead. Gone off to join James.

He turned on the computer screen again and began the heavy duty of informing the rest of the Heads around the world that their de-facto leader was gone and to gather at Old City within six days for presumably her funeral. Will Zimmerman had said that Nikola Tesla was carrying out Magnus' last wishes. And Declan wondered if the man was bringing Magnus' body home to rest beside the empty casket of her daughter.

Declan called up each of the Heads, making sure to ring Wexford last.

He sighed again. The next few days were going to be trouble.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Kate watched silently as Henry muttered furiously to himself, typing away on his computer. His hair stuck up in every which way from frustration while his eyes held a sort of desperation to them.

She had retreated to a stool next to him and continued to watch him go through denial. Magnus was like a mother to him, and now he was lost. The world he had known was falling to pieces, one by one.

Kate opened her mouth to say something, but shut it afterwards. She had no idea what to say. While not as close to Magnus as the others, Kate respected the boss and recognized her as 'good people', of which there were so few in her life. She was at a loss too.

So she sat there, with Henry, because Kate had no idea what to do now.

What would happen to the Sanctuary? This place could function, but its heart would be missing. Already Sally the Mermaid was hovering near the glass of her tank, looking sad and forlorn. She didn't need anyone to tell her what had happened; sensing the emotions was enough.

What was going to happen now?

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Alain laid a hand on Nikola's shoulder. "Everything is ready. Roze and Chiska are on their way." His silver eyes flicked to the object that seemed to hold the man's attention. "We should get ready to move that." When it became obvious that Nikola wasn't going to say anything, Alain left to him to his thoughts.

A hand lifted and slowly trailed over the glossy polished surface. Nikola stepped back and glanced one more time at the honey-wood coffin before leaving.

He could do this. He would do this.

For Helen, Nikola would have done anything.

* * *

Uh...tell me what you think? *looks nervous*


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: A few notes: This story outline was written way back when. So after 'Sleepers' and 'Haunted', but before 'Kali', if it wasn't obvious before now.

Secondly, I had no idea that I'd disappointed some readers with my last chapter; all I can say is, the story isn't done yet. I may stick to the outline or I may deviate; don't count me out yet, k?

And now this short transition chapter: gathering the House Heads! I've made up some Sanctuary locations since we're only made aware of a few. Hope you enjoy this and watch for that ending!

* * *

Grief was put on hold as Helen Magnus' death and last request ushered what seemed like a never-ending arrival of guests, wanted and unwanted.

Declan McCrae's tired face was a welcome sight when he arrived, having hopped on a chartered plane the same day he got the news. Will was there to greet him as Kate watched over a distraught Henry, still in the stages of denial, while the Big Guy had shuffled off to his room, mourning his friend's loss in his own way.

Will found no solace of his own and his bottled-up grief was apparent to Declan.

Declan quietly guided the younger man towards a chair in some corridor. "Take a load off your feet, Will." He sat tentatively.

"Hope you don't mind meeting here." Will sank into the chair. With his elbows on his knees, he lowered his face into his hands, trying to hide his reddened eyes. "I just...I didn't think it was right. To meet in...Magnus' office." Will's voice was muffled. "We sealed it."

"Tesla's request too?"

Will shook his head. "It was...sort of a collective decision. No one goes in." No one wanted to go in. "What's going to happen now?" His voice cracked.

Declan surveyed the younger man; there was no way he was ready for this. "Wexford had actually called a meeting prior to this, were you aware? Somehow, I have no idea, he found out Helen 'up and abandoned' Old City, and was calling for her dismissal. His words. A meeting was set up in New York."

As expected, Will shot up out of his seat, his grief mingled with outrage. "What? T-that's complete...well, bullshit, Declan! If anyone had bothered to remember, the day Magnus left was the day Ashley died! Her _daughter_! Why shouldn't Magnus be allowed to grieve for that?" Will clenched his fists, wishing Wexford were there so he could punch him and then lock him up with the giant lizard in the SHU cell to hopefully die a painful death. "She didn't _abandon_ anything! This whole network was her dream! Her life's work -" Will raged incoherently, his grief taking over and oblivious of the hot tear streaking down his cheek.

Declan stood, hands up. "I know that, Will. Wexford is just...well, I'm sure Helen's told you all about him. The thing is, this news is only going to make him more determined to take over. It's politics, Will, that man thinks of little else. He's going to use this gathering to turn it into a meeting and after that..."

Will turned away and took a deep breath. " He's going to get it, isn't he?" He looked around at the wood paneling, the paintings, everything he took for granted day after day. "And he's going to want Old City."

"Tesla gave us six days. The message has been sent out and the heads are already on their way." Declan rubbed at his eyes. "Some will be here before nightfall. Wexford in New York will be first. We need to get things ready." Stepping up to offer some strong words of reassurance, Declan declared, "You're young, Will. But you are also the one Helen picked to work alongside her, her protégé. If you want any chance to keep Old City the way it is, then you're going to have to be up front and center when the other heads start to arrive." Declan clapped a hand over the younger man's shoulder. "I'll be right beside you."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

As Will half-heartedly greeted the other Heads over the next few days, pasting a smile on his face as Declan introduced them, it struck him how isolated Old City was from the Network. Will didn't know anything outside of this Sanctuary. Outside of Magnus, Declan was the only other one he really knew. He wasn't prepared for any of this.

Nor was he prepared to see Terrence Wexford in gilled flesh, not even bothering to hide a triumphant smirk.

"Wexford." Henry frowned darkly even as Bigfoot growled. The three were standing off to the side to help guide the various heads to guest rooms.

Kate glanced at them. "What's the what? I thought these were all good guys."

Henry sighed. He hadn't met the man personally, but had seen enough of Magnus' stiffness when the man was mentioned to garner an idea. "Wexford's more like a bad good guy."

Bigfoot huffed. "Surprised he didn't show up with a moving van, ready to make himself at home."

"He's been after the doc's position for years," Henry chimed in, clutching his electronic tablet closer. "From the way he acts, he makes it seem like _he_ was the one who created the Sanctuary Network. Man, I _hate_ that guy."

"So what you're saying is that within five minutes of meeting this guy, I'll want to shoot him?" Kate asked, surveying the abnormal as he strutted around. She unceremoniously pushed Henry forward. "Then you'll have to show him to his room. What?" She looked at his incredulous expression. "We're supposed to make with the like-like, right? I probably _will_ shoot him and Big Guy here with eat him."

Henry went off mutinously; had they forgotten he was a werewolf? He was half-tempted to show Wexford to a SHU cell.

"Don't stare," Declan muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"What?"

Declan didn't answer, fixing on a smile and Will gaped at the eleven-foot...Cyclops that just walked through the door. Declan jabbed a discreet elbow into Will's side and he hastily shut his mouth.

"Dr. Zimmerman, meet the Head of the Lagos Sanctuary."

The cyclops offered no hand, only a solemn nod of his head. "Helen will be missed." His voice was gravelly and low. Like falling rocks. The cyclops looked around with in interest before Kate skidded into view, momentarily gaped, before stuttering for the cyclops to follow her.

Declan whispered, "He's sensitive about his short height."

_Only_ his height? Will watched Kate lead the Cyclops away. What about his one eye?

"Dr. Zimmerman, this is the Head of the Namibia Sanctuary." A very old man man with dark skin shuffled his way, bowing slightly. He was accompanied by a young African man, carrying his bags.

He rasped out something and the young African translated in heavily-accented English, "Parandrus says that this is a sad occasion." Bigfoot appeared to shuffle them away.

Will next nodded a hello to Ark-Long Fi, head of the Beijing Sanctuary, when the man had been there to help oversee the transferring of some abnormals after the Cabal's attack. Sydney's Head of House was an empath and gave Will a sympathetic smile as she greeted Declan and him. He couldn't have hoped to hide anything from the stern-looking middle-aged woman.

Mumbai, New Delhi, Tokyo, Berlin...Will greeted them all solemnly with Declan introducing him.

The next six days passed in tenseness with the Old City gang rushing about to accommodate their guests. They milled around, checking out the lower levels and sharing their fond memories of Helen Magnus. Bigfoot had to be kept away from Wexford when the abnormal found the other trying to gain access to Magnus' office.

On the sixth day, late afternoon, the day Tesla had given Will until to gather everyone, all fourteen Heads gathered in the rarely-used formal dining room. Their footsteps echoing on the marbled floor.

Will swallowed hard at the imposing sight of all of the Sanctuary Heads seated at the large table and while he looked calm, Henry and Kate easily saw how terrified he was before the large double doors closed in their faces.

Declan led Will over to the table, but neither sat down. Helen's empty chair at the head of the table was a heart-breaking sight.

The old man, the head of the Namibia Sanctuary, coughed and raised a wrinkled hand, saying something. The young translator brought with him raised solemn eyes to everyone. "Parandrus says that while this is a time for mourning, we have gathered, and some are persistent in their badgering." This remark was not said to anyone, but clearly directed at Wexford.

It was apparent that the table was divided with those seated on the right side of the table against Wexford. Some faces were carefully blank while the Lagos Head, the cyclops, openly glared with his one eye.

"When will this Tesla show up?" Wexford demanded, ignoring the Gorgon's snakes upon her head hissing at him.

Declan nudged Will forward. Despite the tragic circumstances, he knew that as Helen's protégé, Will had to establish himself. Sighing tiredly, Will lifted his hands. "Tesla only said for everyone to be here within six days. I presume he'll show up soon." Will felt slightly intimidated facing the fourteen House Heads, Declan at his back.

Wexford harrumphed. "We're here anyway, so we might as well address the real issue. While her death was unfortunate," this was said in a rush and with no real emotion, "Magnus was already showing signs of being unfit to lead. This only accelerates the need to find a new leader.

"I propose that we vote on who should become the next Head of the Sanctuary Network as well as finding new House Heads for Rio de Janeiro and Moscow." Wexford stood up. "I nominate myself, of course. The choice is rather obvious, considering my long tenure; I have ample experience. To that end, if I am voted in, we should also find a new Head for New York as it's only fitting for the leader to be stationed here in Old City." His conceited eyes took in the room, obviously appreciative of the grandeur.

The Gorgon hissed while Declan stepped forward angrily. "You presume too much, Wexford!"

Wexford ignored him. "Since Paulo and Luka are dead, their votes automatically count in favor." He paused, carefully looking at each and every one of his fellow Heads. "Shall we call a vote now? This Tesla obviously hasn't shown and we do all have Sanctuaries to get back to."

Onryuji, House Head of Tokyo, muttered something in Japanese under his breath.

Nobody said anything and Declan sighed. He really didn't want to do this. "All in favor?"

There were seventeen heads in total, but three were missing. Two murdered, and Magnus...Will swallowed hard as he watched with bated breath to see how many hands would go up.

Lima, Chile, Berlin, South Africa...

Nine in favor, eight against and Will caught Declan's shoulders slumping.

Wexford looked triumphant, already striding toward the chair at the head of the table. Will simmered furiously, clenching his jaw and fists underneath the table.

There was a fuss at the doors before they burst open to reveal Nikola Tesla, dressed to the nines in a tailored all-black suit, cravat and all, striding through. Will had only ever seen Tesla in a mischievous mood, mainly because Magnus was there, but this...this was a whole different side of the electrical genius.

Wexford blustered, straightening up. "How dare you? That was a closed door, this is a pri -"

Tesla gave a cold smirk. "Oh, I've dared to do much more than this, fish-boy." He strode over to Wexford, and even though his build was slimmer, Tesla radiated a dangerous charisma that screamed he was not to be messed with. "I believe that _I_ called this meeting together and it is simply rude to start it without me." Tesla none-too-gently shoved Wexford away from Magnus' chair, but didn't take the seat himself. "Of course, I wouldn't expect manners from a contemptible, half-assed hack such as yourself. And yes," Tesla stared directly at Wexford, "I _am_ talking to you."

He examined his nails. "You know," he drawled, "it's incredibly rude to start a party without the host. Tsk." Nikola's eyes darkened to their black vampiric hue and his voice altered, his nails grew into sharp points, causing Will to stare incredulously and others to stand up in shock and fear. "Am I going to have to beat some manners into you people?"

Nikola displayed his elongated, razor-sharp teeth, flashing a dangerous, predatory smile.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Over 5000 words and 11 pages, here's a super long chap! A reminder: this is set after 'Sleepers'/'Haunted' and before 'Kali', so yeah. How awesome was the season premiere? Gah, all Friday I was so happy! I'm such a dork O.o Anyway, read, review, enjoy!

* * *

Will's eyes widened and his jaw went slack. "How -?" he stopped himself in disbelief. The black pupils, the fanged teeth, the clawed hands, _the electricity bouncing from hand to hand - _

Nikola Tesla was a vampire, once more. How in the _hell_ had that happened?

As if aware of his stupefied confusion, Nikola smirked at him.

He had not entered alone either. The man, _the newly-remade vampire_, was trailed by five individuals, all strangers. Three men and two women; Henry, Kate, and Bigfoot were peeking curiously through the door, hoping that no one remembered that the doors were still open.

Will was less noticeable of this by the fact that his eyes were glued to the coffin they were wheeling in between them.

Helen Magnus' coffin.

He was on his feet and striding toward it before anyone could speak. A dark-haired man with streaks of gray in his hair stepped in his way, blocking him. Strange dark eyes with silver swirls took in Will's devastated expression and softened as if he knew how much Helen meant to him, but made no move to step away.

Wexford stiffened, his hands clenching in anger at the insult and this turn of events. The Chilean House Head, Bastián, a slender olive-skinned man, spoke up, "Who are you? And who are these people? This is a private meeting."

Declan looked curiously at the strangers before sighing, "Everyone, may I introduce to you, Nikola Tesla."

The one and only; Nikola's face was dark, cruel, and arrogant as he stood at the head of the table, protectively next to Helen's vacant chair. "You." His lip curled at Declan's introduction. "I still don't like. In fact, I don't like any of you." He fixed his vampiric gaze on Wexford again. "And you were once her protégé? The fledging boy over there – stay away from her coffin, Dr. Expendable – is actually much more preferable than you."

With his lips twisted in a snarl, Wexford said, "That was a long time ago and I don't care who you are, but you have no right to sling insults at me. Perhaps it is you who has no manners if you cannot even arrive on time." Wexford cocked his head arrogantly. "It seems like Helen's reckless and unsuitable behavior has spread to you as well, or perhaps you are where she got it from. It doesn't matter. I don't care if you called us all here, we were having a Sanctuary Head meeting and since you aren't one, get out now."

In a blur that had a few jumping up in their seats to defend themselves, Nikola had Wexford pinned against the table with one clawed hand wrapped around the bigger man's throat and squeezing the life out of him. Nikola's face was slowly, steadily altering to show his true vampiric face.

The House Head of Berlin uttered a prayer in German at the sight.

Nikola ran a hand down his face and most saw how it trembled. "Please, I know it is incredibly hard for you by your mere existence," he began in a deep, guttural voice as he stared unblinkingly at Wexford, "but try not to irritate or offend me any more than you already have." Nikola tilted his head slowly, like a predator deciding the best way to kill a prey. "Or I will rip you in half."

Silence descended on the room, but it wasn't a calm silence. Rather, almost every body was tense as all eyes were on the obviously unstable vampire.

"Nikola," one of the strangers, the man who'd stepped in front of Will, called. "That's enough. Helen would not be enjoying this."

He growled. "True enough. She would be disappointed," Nikola gave a sick, twisted smile as he slowly released Wexford whose face was beginning to turn blue. "If I killed you, right now anyway."

The entire table watched in fascination, horror, awe as Nikola's face slowly became human again and it was in this silence that Will spoke up amidst Wexford's indignant coughing. "Please, can..." Will swallowed hard. "I would like to pay my respects to a great -" he broke off, choking on a lump.

The man scrutinized him for a long moment. "She means a lot to you. Your teacher, mentor, your friend." His dark eyes that seemed to swirl with silver were sympathetic. "I think it's time to get down to business, Nikola."

"Not that," a beautiful blonde cut in, "your antics weren't amusing. They were very dramatic. Helen was right about you."

Will looked at her, at them. "You were with Magnus when she...How...how did she die?" Was it as painful as it looked? Why was she with you? Who are you? What was she doing? Why didn't she call for help? A dozen questions flashed through Will's mind.

As if reading his mind, the man stepped out of his way, giving Will a clear path to the closed coffin. "It's best if you see for yourself."

Nikola, leaning once more against Helen's chair and cleaning his nails, looking as if he hadn't tried to kill someone, looked less agreeable.

"Please don't soil her with your touch. I'm possessive."

Will opened the coffin, bracing himself.

Magnus looked peaceful, her chest still, dressed in a red satin business dress on which her chocolate brown curls lay against. She had been cleaned up, but the image of her splattered with blood superimposed this image in his mind.

"Magnus..."

Her eyes snapped open. Will let out a yell of surprise and visibly jerked back, almost tripping over his feet. His jaw dropped.

Will watched as his mentor, _his supposedly dead mentor_, blinked, sighed, and sat upright, _in her coffin._

"I would like to get out of this thing now."

"Y-you're dead." The blood, the gaping hole in her chest, her paleness...It had been real, hadn't it? Henry found no alteration in the photo Tesla sent.

Nikola snickered and even a few of the strangers that had accompanied him failed to stifle an amused smile.

Helen gave a reassuring smile to a gaping Will while Nikola and another man helped her out of the coffin. "A ruse, Will. All just a ruse. I needed a reason to have everyone here and to convince the Cabal that I was dead so they would stop sending people after me. Although Terrence had already called a meeting," here Helen threw a meaningful glance at the gilled man, "I needed it to be _here_, where I could be assured it would be completely safe." Old City Sanctuary, as per Helen's wishes, was the only Sanctuary without a large support staff. Once on the ground, she looked disapprovingly at Nikola. "I could hear everything that was going on."

Nikola merely looked back at her in innocence.

"This duplicity is yet another example of how unfit you are to lead the Sanctuary Network, Helen," Wexford snipped, over his shock at seeing her and his condescension shoving away his fear of Nikola.

His feet were already moving to tear her down even more when Nikola stopped him with a little zap of electricity to the man's chest, shoving him back and looking like it was enjoying this party-crashing a tad too much. He glanced at Helen. "I still don't understand why you won't let me take care of this unattractive, unimpressive waste of space? A little snap of the neck, that's all it would take."

Her eyes looked amused. "I thought you were a reasonable man."

"I am reasonable," Nikola grasped her hand and lightly kissed the back of it, "except when it comes to you."

Helen placed a light hand on his arm. "We agreed to do this my way." She smiled gently at the Will's shell-shocked face. "I'll explain everything later, Will, I promise. Trust me now."

He nodded numbly, his eyes fixed, unblinking and trying his hardest not to collapse in teary relief. Magnus was alive. Alive! He stifled a hysterical laugh. Will instantly remembered when she had orchestrated the Big Guy's murder by her hand and became genuinely mad – all just to sniff out a traitor. Will shook his head. Unbelievable...

She stepped away from Nikola and toward the table, giving a warm smile to her colleagues. "Please everyone, have a seat. I apologize greatly for the deceptive means to bring you all here...and for Nikola in general," she added. "But as I said, it was to ensure the safety of us all. But first, the vote that was just taken – I declare it null and void, since I obviously did not get to cast my vote. Terrence, please re-take your seat. I am still in charge here." Her voice was chilly and Helen's blue eyes were none-too-friendly...were her pupils actually darkening?

Helen had not taken her seat, but stood in her red dress, making a striking figure. Nikola's dark smirking figure was a perfect addition. There was a sensual grace about them and something different about Helen.

Intimidated, but not really worried, Wexford maintained his distance and sneered at Nikola. "What are you, Helen's personal bully? You are in no way a part of the Sanctuary Network. You and your friends are not welcome. Surely, Helen can take care of herself?"

Nikola briefly toyed with the idea of snapping the man's neck again. Helen wouldn't stay mad at him forever, could she? But she'd most certainly not allow him near her bed tonight and well, Nikola was a man with simple desires. World domination, revival of the vampire race, possibly some sycophantic followers, Helen in any way, shape, or form...He looked at his fingers. "Helen can break each and every one of you. Her mind is quite sordid and dark, you know."

Helen slowly looked at him, unamused.

"Tesla? _Nikola Tesla?_" the House Head of Sydney spoke up, "as in the electrical genius? The man who died more than fifty years ago? But...how..." She looked confused. "Helen, how do you know this man?"

"Ah, you're confused," Nikola cut off Helen. "A lot of people are when they are confronted with my vastly superior intelligence. We can't all be someone who has single-handedly created the world today. Helen and I go way back. In fact, it makes me delighted that after all these years, she's finally given in to the carnal desire to slee - "

"Nikola. If you cannot keep your mouth closed, perhaps you should just not be here."

Catching her eyes, Nikola's lips stretched into a slow smile and suddenly all the women in the room saw the vampire go from aggressively unstable to charmingly attractive.

Helen cleared her throat and averted her eyes. That was the same smile, a smile that held promise, that the little bugger had given her last night. "But on to business. Terrence did call a meeting; a meeting for replacements and for my abdication. Unfortunately, I will not be going anywhere. My position and my _own home_ are not up for consideration." This time, it was noticed by everyone, the darkening of Helen's angry eyes. Nikola subtly moved closer.

"I would like to put some evidence on the table that you should all be aware of." A distinguished older gentleman, one who had not spoken yet, deposited a metal briefcase on the table.

"Do you remember how I met you, Terrence?" The gilled man looked uncomfortable and angry at the same time. "It was out of respect for you that I said nothing about your abnormality to anyone and I was fiercely proud when you became a House Head. It seems I was wrong. And so now, I will share with everyone what I should have a long time ago."

Helen looked at everyone while Nikola, standing beside her, dared Wexford to say or do anything. "Unlike what he would have you believe, his looks are not what make him an abnormal, but rather what he can do. Terrence is able to emit pheromones through his gills that can make humans more...agreeable to him. More predisposed to his opinions and easily swayed to his way of thinking. But only when in direct contact." What Helen didn't mention was that her first encounter with Terrence would have turned out to be an unsavory one if Bigfoot hadn't been immune and there to shoot him with a tranquilizer. "This chemical is easily detectable in the bloodstream once you know what to look for, and better yet, it stays in the blood for a long period of time."

Helen opened the briefcase. "Before I came here, my friends," she gestured to the strangers still standing, "did me a favor. With permission from family in writing, they collected blood samples from both Luka Ivanov and Paulo Mendoza and tested them." Helen held out two vials of blood. "Both showed signs of Terrence's...influence. I have my records available and my labs are free to use for those who wish to test these themselves." She glanced at the white-faced Wexford and asked the real question, "I wonder Terrence, if I tested the blood of everyone in this room, in how many would I find that same compound?"

The cyclops let out a roar, stood up, and would have destroyed the table in his anger to kill Wexford if Helen hadn't stopped him.

Onryuji was on his feet, his nails growing like Nikola's except they were white. In accented English, he said, "Helen-sama, this duplicitous disgrace has dishonored and betrayed us all. He must be killed." Ark-Fong Li made an agreeing noise toward his fellow Asian Head.

"We should throw him out of the Network. Let him fend for himself." Pili, House Head of Cairo, demanded.

"No. Our motto is 'Sanctuary For All'. I intend to see that through. Terrence will retain his head position."

Ravi, Mumbai's House Head, protested, "Helen!"

"But not in New York. I'm thinking of constructing a new Sanctuary...in Antarctica."

"Antarctica? But there's nothing there!" Wexford balked, but quieted when he saw all the hostile, murderous, looks his way.

"Not true. I hear the Yeti population is on the rise. They must be making a comeback. So Terrence, I suggest you start buying warm clothes while suspended from your duties. A new head will be elected for New York. All in favor of this motion?"

It was unanimous with the exception of the cyclops who grounded out that Wexford _living_ was unacceptable.

"Consider this your only warning, Terrence. While our motto is 'Sanctuary For All', step one foot out of line, and you will be enjoying that sanctuary from inside a SHU." Helen allowed the barest hint of anger leak through her composed face and her blue eyes grew cold. "Be grateful I did not take your approach and outright exterminate you, despite your dangerous tendencies. As it is, you will still be a House Head _only in name_ – any rights and privileges that come with are stripped from you.

"As you are suspended from your Head duties from this moment on, feel free to leave the room. In fact, why don't my staff show you back to your room?" She glanced at Bigfoot, Henry, and Kate still lurking. "Where you will stay under lock and key until such time I can happily ship you elsewhere."

"Move it," Kate ordered gleefully, shoving the barrel of her beloved gun into Wexford's back. "And don't be touching me either. I heard what the boss said and I won't hesitate to pop one in your leg or somewhere else."

Bigfoot huffed threateningly as he followed. Henry moved along as well but turned back when Helen called his name. His eyes were noticeably teary as he looked at her. "After you escort Terrence to his room, please wait with the others in my office. And try to keep Kate from actually shooting him." She smiled at him.

Henry saluted. "You got it, doc." He resisted the urge to yell out 'huzzah' in celebration. The doc was back!

Helen breathed in deeply, happy despite the circumstances. She was home, Terrence was taken care of, those she cared about surrounded her, and Nikola was there. She smiled at her friends, waiting. "There is still much to discuss, but I would like ask for an hour's time to settle a few things. The past few days have been, well," Helen laughed, "turbulent to say the least, for all of us. In the meantime, we have need of three House Heads. I would like all of you to go over your own staff and see if any are suitable to take up the post. We'll meet here in an hour." Helen smiled again at everyone's agreement, briefly spoke to Alain, before heading to her room to change out of her red dress.

Nothing was said on the way to her bedroom, though Helen idly wondered how Nikola knew the way. It was probably the same way he knew she would be in Rome that first time and how he knew she was at her villa. Always watching out for her. Kate would have called him a creepy stalker.

They reached her bedroom and Nikola opened the door for her, a lewd remark dancing on his lips but settled for glancing around the room he'd yet to be in. Helen went directly to her wardrobe and pulled out black slacks and a white dress shirt, turning around to find Nikola lounging against the bed post with a mischievously expectant look, darting between her face and clothes.

Hopeless man. Helen's eyes said it all as she didn't break a stride on her way to the bathroom, closing it in his face and locking it.

Nikola huffed as Helen's laughter mocked him from the other side before that impish glint (that always eventually appeared around Helen) entered his eyes.

Striding towards Helen's bed, he lay down, making himself comfortable on the blanket and staring up at the canopy. His sensitive smell picked up the faint smell of Helen on her pillows, her duvet and he smiled contentedly. "Definitely going to need silk sheets though." The bathroom door opened and Helen stepped out, shaking her head at the sight of Nikola languorously stretching out on her bed. He waggled his eyebrows. "Definitely going to need a bigger bed."

Helen busied herself by turning away and grabbing her hairbrush. She squelched a tiny shiver at the sight of Nikola in her bed which subsequently led to her wishing they weren't pressed for time with the House Heads and the Cabal's inevitable want to riddle their bodies with bullets, which instantly flashed to a picture of them both wearing less than what they were, to her wondering if she'd locked the door and that a 'quickie' by definition wouldn't take more than...right, back to brushing her hair.

"I didn't exactly do things the way you wanted me to in that meeting," he murmured silkily, his lips curling into a devilish smirk. "Care to reprimand me for that, Helen?"

"There are people waiting for us in my office, Nikola," she reminded, giving a final brush through her curls. But her lips lifted in a promising smile for later.

Nikola's answering smirk was enough as he smoothly rolled off the bed and to her side as they left her, _their_, bedroom, towards her office.

Everyone was waiting for them. Will and the others were suspiciously eying Alain and his family lounging in the seats, but everyone's attention focused on Helen as she made her way to her desk.

Henry gained attention by shuffling closer to Helen. She looked at his face. "Henry..."

"When we saw that picture...and we thought you were dead..." He gave a warbling laugh. "I'm trying really hard to totally not start the water-works here, but...it's really, _really _good to see you, doc."

Nikola rolled his eyes.

Helen hugged Henry, apologizing. "I'm sorry for putting you through that, Henry. I really am."

"If you want to blame someone, blame me. That whole picture was my idea," Nikola threw out.

"Oh I do," Henry answered. "I blame you for everything."

Nikola actually looked impressed with the kid's lack of fear before settling back in what he deemed _his_ chair in Helen's office with a glass of wine.

At this point, the rest of the Old City gang reunited with Will looking relieved that his life wasn't over and embarrassed about his reaction when Helen had scared him in her coffin. All the while, they were watched by the five individuals seated majestically on Helen's couches and chairs with indulgent smiles.

"All right, we still have a mess to deal with. What?" Helen finally looked at Nikola sulking in a chair near her desk.

"You didn't say it. The perfect line when you walked in. It was the golden opportunity, Helen." He pouted at her.

"Nikola , as much as you wanted to humor your old friend, I was not going to say something so clichéd."

"What?" Kate looked interested. "What weren't you going to say?"

Helen rolled her eyes. "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated, paraphrased, of course."

Nikola raised his wine glass fondly to the ceiling. "You were a wonderful friend, Samuel. One of the greatest men I ever knew!" He soured at the blank looks on Kate and Henry's faces. Will stifled a smile. "Samuel Clemens! Mark Twain!"

Henry gave an 'o' of understanding. "Is that where that came from?"

Nikola nearly face-palmed. Youth; so completely uneducated these days.

Helen laughed at him before becoming serious. "Now that we have Terrance taken care of, there is still the matter of the Cabal infiltrators in the Sanctuary Network." She briefly explained everything that had happened since she'd left for her villa in France to how she had met up with Alain and the others, but did not explain anything else about them. "Having all the Sanctuary Heads here provides a tempting target that hopefully the Cabal will take. Although, it's unlikely they'll remove their spies, if we deal a big enough blow, they'll think twice about attacking."

Nikola privately thought that the Cabal could assassinate every Sanctuary Head out there, save Helen, and it wouldn't make a difference. They were replaceable; she was not.

"We need to monitor the grounds for the slightest movement. Henry, I'm counting on you for that. The rest of you, if an attack should come our way, it will be your responsibility to protect the Heads as you take them to the safe room down below. If we are attacked, we'll have to fight, like last time."

Will raised a hand. "Uh, not to be the pessimistic one here, but if the Cabal does attack, they'll outnumber us. With a lot of guns."

"And no offense, but you're not the first person I'd pick to be on my side," Kate snarked.

Will shot her a dirty look, but Helen interrupted, "Now I would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to my guests." She gave a 'behave' look to Kate and Will. "Alain, his wife Chiska, their son and daughter, Roze and Danel, and Alain's cousin, Marko."

"Vampires," Nikola jumped in, ignoring Helen's sour look and deviously relishing in the sudden fearful reactions of the children and Helen's house dog. "Pure-blooded vampires, all."

Kate's gun was out before Will managed to nearly trip over a table in his haste to back up. Henry clutched his electronic tablet to his chest, eyes darting from one face to another.

"Instigator," Helen muttered at Nikola. She held up her hands. "It's fine. They saved both mine and Nikola's lives and I completely trust them." She smiled to alleviate the tension. "They are old friends of my father and of the Sanctuary. When, if, the Cabal attack, they will do their best to help ensure we win this fight."

"Are they how Tesla got his vampirism back?" Will asked. Helen nodded, but said nothing of her own changed status.

Henry eloquently summed up their reaction. "Whoa."

Helen gestured toward one of them, a young-looking man with brown hair, lean build, and glasses. "Henry Foss, meet Danel. You both share a love of hacking. Introduce him to the Sanctuary mainframe and see if you can find any flaws. With the Cabal inevitably on their way, the less access they have, the better."

Bobbing his head obediently, Henry warily escorted the vampire out. Everyone in the office heard Henry ask, "Hey, y-you're not all like Tesla, are you?"

"You mean, our vampiric traits, Mr. Foss?"

"Call me Henry and no, I mean, like arrogant, antagonizing, insulting, unstable...you know, stuff like that."

There was a hint of amusement in Danel's voice. "No, M-Henry. We're not like that at all."

"Whew, that's a relief."

Alain looked approvingly at Helen's office. "This Sanctuary of yours is truly a wonder, Helen." He looked fondly at her. "You have done your father proud in making his, and yours, dreams come true. If we may, we would like to explore this Sanctuary of yours?"

"But, of course, Alain. Will? Can you bring give them the unofficial tour?"

Nikola leaned back in his favorite chair. "I think that's a good idea. Wait until you see what abnormals Helen has managed to save, imagine what other abnormals she has at the other Sanctuaries, and just picture how easy it would be to take over the world."

Everyone just looked at him and he gave a big mischievous smile in response that everyone became leery at and they quickly departed.

The door was barely shut when Nikola's voice filtered into her mind. '**You didn't tell them about your recent, and may I add, for the better, change.'** And he wasn't talking about their newfound telepathy, though Nikola enjoyed it. It was an ability he previously didn't have. His electrical power had evidently come from a different strain within the vampiric gene pool.

Having had little time to get used to a voice talking in her head, Helen still flinched a bit and concentrated. '**I didn't think it was the right time. They just got over the shock of my being alive.'**

Nikola wrapped his arms around Helen, pulling her closer and nuzzling her neck, nipping playfully.

"Nikola, we don't have time for this." Even as she said it, Helen was tilting her head to the side and giving in to the softly-pressed kisses on her skin.

Nimble fingers slid across the cotton of her shirt to flick the top button out of its hole. "Didn't you make a disparaging remark about my stamina when we stayed at that hotel?" A second button followed and Nikola trailed a finger over the soft skin revealed. "You look tense. Are you tense?" She shook her head at him, marveling at his constant want to get into her pants. "I'm only helping."

Helen began unbuttoning his suit jacket. "Your kind of help is dangerous." She pressed her palms into his chest, taking the opportunity to rid him of his cravat. "Very dangerous." Nikola noted with glee that her words made no difference as she toyed with a button. "We should probably head to my room. Right here isn't a good idea."

Nikola slipped a leg between hers and backed her up against her desk. "Why not?" His voice was seductively silky.

"Because I have to work in here, Nikola..." she protested without any real fire.

"Helen," Nikola pulled back slightly. "We have eternity together. By the time we're through, you won't be able to walk anywhere in this place without picturing us, together," his lips curled into that teasing smirk, "in the most wicked positions." He took in her wide eyes a second before he bent to kiss her again and Helen had no choice but to be swept away.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

They were late. An hour and a half later, Helen, Nikola, and everyone else was re-assembled in the dining room. Helen avoided the knowing gaze of Emily. As an empath, she knew exactly what everyone was feeling in the room and it was evident to her that Helen was feeling embarrassed, but happy. Nikola was happily smug, lounging possessively close in the chair next to Helen's. He hid a smirk behind his wine glass. As her right, Helen sat at the head of the table and he enjoyed everyone having to look their way.

Alain and the others, Henry, Kate were absent, already having been briefed about the Cabal, while Will took his place at the table as Helen's protégé.

Even though she was now a vampire and death wasn't going to be visiting her anytime soon. It was still Helen's hope that Will would soon be established enough to be a House Head someday and do a far better job than Terrence Wexford.

"The Cabal is after us, once more," Helen announced. "They were responsible for Luka and Paulo's deaths and were the cause of my prolonged absence. They've infiltrated our Sanctuaries with assassins. It seems they've taken a page from our book and have decided to go after the House Heads."

Pili looked alarmed. "What are we going to do?"

"You cannot suggest we stay here, Helen," Ravi said. "Sooner or later, we will have to return to our own Sanctuaries."

Helen raised her hands. "Which is why I suggested a full meeting here. My friends, we've set the ultimate prize before the Cabal. All of us, in one place, at the same time. The chances of them attacking now are sure."

The cyclops grumbled, "How can you be sure?"

Nikola spoke up, "We decimated the top echelon of the Cabal. Taking out most, if not all, of their heads has left them flailing. Yours truly has rendered them technologically impotent to a point where it's quite embarrassing and all they have left are peons," _like yourselves,_ Nikola wanted to add, thinking that without Helen, this network would fall apart in a year.

"Knowing we're all here, the Cabal are going to use those peons in a bid to overwhelm us in sheer numbers. Big risk, big prize. But the Cabal cannot be anything but opportunistic in their effort to kill us. Even their plan of infiltration was opportunistic in nature; kill us when they have the chance and when we're least expecting it. They'll attack. They can't afford to do anything else. They have to get rid of us now."

As if to back up his words, Henry came skidding into the room and almost crashed into the door. Kate at his heels.

"Doc! We've got some major uninvited company!" He straightened himself up and hurried over to Helen, holding out his beloved electronic tablet. Nikola propped his chin onto her shoulder as they viewed an aerial schematic of the Old City Sanctuary. Over a wall on the east side, through the water tunnels below, and ironically, through the front gate.

Helen handed back the tablet. "Henry, you, Will, and the others arm yourselves and escort the Heads to the safe room. Where's Alain and the others?"

"Danel's monitoring while I went to inform you; Alain and the others headed toward the front gate."

"Helen," the Gorgon hissed. "I will take those coming from the wall." She smiled and so did the snakes atop her head. "I hope you will not mind a new garden of stone statues."

The cyclops stood, towering above the rest. "I will help." If he couldn't pound on Wexford, then he might as well pound on these puny Cabal humans.

Helen glanced at Nikola. "That leaves the water tunnels for us."

Nikola hummed in her ear. "Ready to get wet, Helen?"

Kate, uncaring about any of these people now that Magnus was back and her position was secure, ushered the House Heads along, gesturing with her gun. "C'mon, c'mon, people. I so do not want to be bullet-ridden. Hurry it up."

The empath, Sydney's house head, Emily stayed in the middle of the group, expanding her influence to keep things calm and orderly. Henry hurried back to join Danel, who being a vampire, was all the protection he needed.

Things were about to get hairy.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Thank you to all who reviewed! Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, guys, since last Thursday, I've had to be dealing with some bad crap in RL that's still plaguing me and I just have to deal with that first. But we're nearing the end! Maybe one more chapter, I think, so please as always, read, review, enjoy!

Another long chapter coming your way! The Sanctuary vs. the Cabal! Multiple cut scenes and flashbacks. Warning: Minor violence.

**Bold** = telepathy

_Italicized parts_ = flashbacks

* * *

Nikola never ran anywhere. He strode, he sauntered, and right now, he stalked down the underground tunnels of Old City Sanctuary with a smirk curving his lips. He glanced beside him to Helen keeping pace and then down to her legs, her feet encased in black heels, and his smirk widened, lust warring with the anticipation of a good fight.

A confident woman fighting in high heels. _Helen _fighting in high heels. She looked so hot. And even though she had no need for the gun clutched in her hand, it just made her look hotter.

Picking up on his thoughts, Helen shot him a look as they rounded a corner and promptly halted. Too faint to be picked up by human ears, their vampiric hearing had no problem catching the sounds of booted feet rushing toward them mingling with the sounds of artillery brushing against vests.

The smirk turned into a vicious smile as Nikola flexed his fingers. "This is going to be interesting."

"Such a savage underneath that polished veneer." Helen wryly wondered if she would start developing a sense of arrogance and invincibility with her new-found vampirism but merely checked her gun clip and followed Nikola in his wake; her eyes darkening to black, silver swirling in the midst.

O.o.O.o.O

They'd broken through the gate and streamed through the stone archway. Armed with automatic machine guns, faces covered with black masks, heads filled with elite combat training and eyes intent on taking over the vast building as the small platoon stormed up the driveway.

The leader swarmed up the steps and motioned with a hand. Two men positioned themselves and with a nod, burst through the surprisingly unlocked doors, only to give abruptly cut-off shouts and their bodies vanished into the dark foyer.

Alain glanced down at his beautiful wife still in her black pantsuit, standing with him on the stairs. '**Are you ready, love?**'

She smiled through a mouth of fanged teeth. Her dark eyes swirled with excitement. '**It's been a while since we've done anything like this, beloved. It should be fun.'**

He glanced at Marko and Roze, similarly vamped out and already making quick work of the Cabal agents as they funneled through the front doors. They pulled them into the dark foyer, the advantage on their side of seeing in the pitch-black darkness, and picked them off, one by one. Necks twisted, bones snapped, oxygen cut off, all laced with screams rending through the air. It mixed with the frantic gun-fire, hitting everything but their intended targets.

Thirty versus four.

'**Indeed, it should.' **His claws grew and Alain became a blur as he dove into the fray. His wife following quickly to the horrified screams of their prey.  
Sanguine Vampiris, the most magnificent abnormal in history. Vicious, intelligent, blood-thirsty, and back in action.

O.o.O.o.O

The Gorgon, derived from the Greek word _gorgos_, meaning 'dreadful' or 'terrible'. The origin of the Gorgon varied through mythology from being a beautiful woman transformed by Athena into a monster to being a monster born from a monstrous family. Descriptions of what she looked like differed from scholar to scholar, poets, and historic motifs. A monstrous creature with the ability to turn anyone into stone with a mere glance.

Cabal agents proved this true with their lives as they descended from the wall, only now realizing what they had stormed into. Dead center in the midst of a garden of half-broken stone statues, she reared up on her tail, this majestic creature and welcomed them all to death. Covered with impenetrable scales, sharp fangs and clawed hands snaking out to bash and break those frozen in half, sending their stone statues shattering on the ground.

Some scholars said that Gorgons guarded the entrance to the underworld, and this Gorgon, the last of her kind, did more than that. She flooded the underworld with the souls of these men who worked for those who truly were monsters. Those who had captured her kind and experimented, who ultimately killed them, discarding their carcasses like trash, who had whittled her kind to one, and who would do the same to her if they could.

The hundreds of snakes on her head hissed, red eyes glowing as they lashed out in a swarming mass in all directions, leaving none of these monsters alive, only frozen with their wide eyes and screaming mouths. Bullets faltered to the ground, impenetrable her scales were that covered her undulating body as she moved like a viper, striking without warning, taking all.

The Gorgon took no sadistic pleasure in ending the lives of these men, but channeled her vindictive justice for the wrongs done to her race, her family, weaving through broken statues, over shards and chunks of stone arms, legs, torsos, faces.

It had to be done.

O.o.O.o.O

Will silently counted the heads in the safe room frantically as Kate pounded mercilessly on one Cabal agent, struggling to get in the room. Declan was currently locked in a bare-hand struggle with another while the Big Guy was getting piled on by the rest of the five-man group of Cabal agents that had managed to sneak by the others.

"Ow!" Kate cried out as her opponent blocked her fists and slammed her against the wall. She grappled with him as he tried to choke the life out of her. "I...so...did not...want to use my new boots like this!" With the wall as leverage, she landed a vicious kick somewhere that had Will wincing. Picking up a decorative urn nearby, Kate glanced at it, then at her opponent whimpering on his knees, back at the urn, and then set it back down. Knowing the boss, she'd make Kate pay for any unnecessary damages and Kate was always poor. Instead, with a gleeful glint in her eyes, Kate went with the option of clubbing the man in the head with her fists. "Ow!" She hopped around as pain exploded in her hands afterward.

Bigfoot let out a roar and seemed to envelop himself in a frenzy, shoving the three men off him. He knocked one man down the hall and another over his head. The remaining Cabal agent backed up and decided to run, but Bigfoot reached out to swipe his large, furry hand against the man's shoulder, spinning him around, into the wall, and out for the count. Bigfoot huffed, turning up his nose.

Kicking her man into unconsciousness, Kate flung back her hair in victory. "And you thought I was helpless without my gun," she panted, walking over to pick it up. "Thank you very much."

Declan resorted to some military training Will didn't know he had and currently had his man in a choke hold.

The man passed out just as Will finally managed to finish count. "Hey wait...there's two people missing."

O.o.O.o.O

One of those people was Daivya, newly-elected House Head of New Delhi after Dr. Allison Grant's death and he was currently whirling deadly twin blades at his two opponents.

He had been silent for most of his time here, allowing his more experienced colleagues to voice their opinions. Daivya appreciated his job, marveled at the continued wonders he saw, and as he circled one man, reveled in the chance to practice his art.

A pivot on his heel, a slash to the man's back, deep enough to touch bone. He spun and ducked a barrage of bullets, a single upward stab to the stomach.

Daivya cleaned his blades, bowed his head over the two fallen bodies in prayer, and moved on.

Hunting.

O.o.O.o.O

Nikola cocked his head. '**What's that screaming?**' His fingers unbuttoned his suit jacket, giving himself room to move.

Helen heard the shouts and a high-pitched whine. '**The Cabal must have stumbled onto those electric mesh traps I set down here after the last time they stopped by**.' Her heels clicked on the floor and she picked up another shout of alarm. But her attention was quickly diverted when a bulky Cabal agent shot around another corner and directly into them. Raising his gun, Nikola slapped it away, already vamped out in a split-second, crushing the gun's barrel.

With a single forceful shove, Nikola broke the man's ribcage as he sent him flying back into a concrete wall.

An arm looped itself around Helen's neck and pulled her backwards into a choke-hold. Old instincts warred with her new abilities and she struggled for a moment before realizing she didn't need air. Helen's eyes gleamed as one hand grew elongated nails and she viciously slashed her attacker's arm, through his shirt and flesh, leaving deep bloody gashes and the man cried out. Pushing him away, Helen let her anger at the Cabal out and vindictively shot the man in the chest, point-blank.

Nikola's touch on her shoulder caused Helen to flinch and the adrenaline rush amplified by the smell of blood was curbed with a single look into his eyes. Dimly she noted that she had shifted into her vampiric features and something was racing along her veins, driving her into madness.

"Helen." Nikola watched Helen's internal struggle and without hesitation, pulled her into a hard embrace, trying to lend her strength. Helen shuddered as she burrowed her face into his neck and he combed a hand through her brunette tresses.

'**It'll take time.' **He continued to hold her as she calmed down. '**You got used to the basics quickly enough.**' Nikola's voice inside her head was like a caress that still made her shiver. **'Was it only three days?'**

'**Admittedly, the strangest three days in my life**.' Helen pulled away from Nikola, taking steadying breaths.

**'All that matters to me is that you're still here**.' Blue-gray eyes flashed with past fear of how close he had been to losing her, _had _lost her in fact for the barest of minutes. A flash of Marko's urgent face flitted through his mind that Helen caught and she trailed a finger down the side of his face and traced his lips as they remembered. Her own memories hazy at the beginning.

o.o.o

_Tossing the towel back onto the rack, Nikola glanced one more time at himself before unlocking the door and stepping out. _

_ Marko was running in his direction. A look of urgency on his pale face. "Nikola! It's Helen!"_

_ His heart plummeted. _

_ "Come quickly!" Marko urged, already turning to run back from the direction he'd come from. Nikola blurred to his side in an instant, his insides twisting and heart threatening to either burst from his chest or wilt up and die the moment he nearly knocked Marko from the doorway in his panicked fear. Every nerve in his body tense, readying himself for the sight of Helen's dead body, once more. For in an experiment like this, there were never any second chances. His eyes seared themselves to the bed he had left Helen on. _

_ And saw nothing but empty, disheveled sheets. Confusion edged its way behind his fear, his heartbreak._

_ A whimper caught his attention and Nikola snapped his head around, still feeling like he was about to break. _

_ She was still alive. _

_ It was the first, middle, last, and only thought that penetrated his mind, sending a wave of intense relief that rocked his body and nearly brought Nikola to his knees._

_ Marko's urgent shout, the look on the other vampire's face, had him thinking the worst. _

_ The second thought was that she was awake. And looking at her had him understanding that urgency. Helen had somehow managed to fall off her bed, sweat-soaked and shivering, and crawl to futilely burrow herself in a corner. Hazy disorientation streaked across her exhausted face and her beautiful blue eyes were glazed over. Palpable fear and confusion peppered the air. _

_ "Nikola," Marko warned in a low voice, not moving from his position beside him in the doorway. "She doesn't recognize me. We -"_

_ A violent burst of coughing cut him off and Nikola, who hadn't taken his eyes off Helen, took an instinctive step forward as speckles of blood flew out of her mouth, staining her shirt. Helen's body continued to shake with hacking coughs. _

_ "We have to get her back on the bed so I can check her out," Marko continued urgently. "Something could be wrong."_

_ "Obviously," Nikola snapped back, refraining from wildly gesturing at Helen. Straightening his shoulders, he ordered, "Wait out in the hall while I calm her. Your presence will only frighten her more." It was a combination of his fear, natural arrogance, and protective instinct coming out that made Nikola's voice so sharp and Marko vanished, leaving the door a tiny crack. Seeing Helen like she was vividly reminded him of his first experience. _

_ He walked over to her passively and knelt down in front of her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. _

_ "Helen?" She jerked back into the wall, but Nikola merely tightened his grip on her. "Helen, it's me, Nikola. It's me, it's just me. Come on, love, you know me, you know I would never hurt you." He sought out her eyes as she tried to hide her face, but her body still shook with occasional tremors. "I love you, Helen Magnus. You can trust me. Look at me, please, love." His voice was coaxing, but firm. And he waited until Helen, still shaking, slowly brought her eyes up to his, stopped trying to fight against his hold. _

_ As glazed and bleary as her eyes were, Nikola saw a spark of fleeting recognition._

_ Wordlessly, Helen's chapped, bloody lips haltingly mouthed his name and she looked at him weakly, sagging against him in pure surrender. Her mind was mush.  
_

_ Hugging her tightly to his frame, Nikola ignored her sweaty clothes, lank hair, her blood staining his clothes, and damp skin in favor of clasping Helen to him and kissing any piece of her that his mouth could reach. "Helen," he breathed. "You're okay. You're all right." He shut his eyes, uncaring that his fingers were digging into her skin. "Thank you," Nikola whispered. "Thank you."_

_ His hold on her didn't lessen as he coaxed her up, carrying Helen's exhausted self to the bed and calling out for Marko. _

_ Nikola watched as Marko examined Helen as thoroughly as he could from within his arms, taking blood samples to examine, all the while Helen dozed on his shoulder, too tired to even flinch at the multiple needles piercing her skin. _

_ After Marko left to run his tests, Nikola cajoled Helen back onto the bed, leaving her unstrapped. He perched on the side of the bed and watched her drift into sleep, her hand clutching his._

_ It was more than an hour before any sound registered and Nikola turned his head as Alain walked in, followed by Marko. Both of their faces were exuberant. "Success." Alain smiled proudly. _

o.o.o

Staring down at her hand, Helen watched her nails retract and she shook her head, exhaling heavily. Her blue eyes sought out Nikola. "This is definitely going to take a while to get used to."

Nikola looked solemnly at the woman he loved and held out a hand. "We have all the time in the world. Shall we?"

Taking one last breath, Helen took his hand and stifled a surprised yelp as he tugged her against him, falling against his chest. He wrapped his other around her waist.

"You wouldn't slap me if I said seeing you like that makes me want to see if I can make you forget everything except me at this moment?" He grinned devilishly and silenced Helen's retort with his lips. He took complete control of the kiss, nipping at her lips before soothing them and coaxing her mouth open.

Helen gave in even as she smiled into the mischievous kiss.

"Hands up!" A male voice barked and slowly, simultaneously Helen and Nikola turned broke their kiss and turned their heads to see themselves surrounded by five Cabal agents, pointing guns at them.

O.o.O.o.O

The Cabal agent blindly ran for it, keeping his averted from the monstrous mythical sight. Already dozens of his comrades were frozen in stone for eternity, with the Gorgon's red stare of death. He ran and ran, across the field, ducking between statues of once-live men to the building up ahead. It was no longer about heeding the mission directive; it was about staying alive and getting the hell out of there. Fear ramped up inside, clawing at his skin. It pushed him to move faster. Faster.

The training hadn't prepared him for this, any of this. He stopped behind a bush before turning a corner, hoping for a way out.

Staring up at the eleven-foot tall cyclops staring back down at him with a maniacal gleam in its one eye, the man knew there was no room for hope in this.

And when the massive club swung down, connecting with his chest and shattering his rib cage to pieces, he didn't have any thought at all.

O.o.O.o.O

o.o.o

_A string of curses erupted from his mouth as he burst into the tiny hut, alerting those inside. A blonde woman dressed in a simple woolen dress rushed toward him. "What is it?" She had picked up his urgency as he bustled about, gathering things up and shoving them into rucksacks. _

_ "The clergyman that arrived in the village today has incited a fervor. He caught Josef feeding along the outskirts of the woods." His eyes looked wild with fear. "We have to go, now. The village will come after us."_

_ His words incited cries of fear and panic as the twelve individuals crammed inside the tiny hut jumped up and began packing. _

_ "We only just got here!" One of the younger ones cried, tears welling up in her brown eyes._

_ Another man hushed her, exclaiming angrily, "Josef was supposed to quietly bring one here for us to feed upon." He cursed, his hands grabbing everything he could. _

_ Faint shouts alerted them and a young man looked out the window, before backing up in fear. "I see torches! They come for us!"_

_ "Go! Go now! Towards the woods!" The man who had first entered ordered loudly. "Go! Take the horses!" He looked regrettably toward the chest that contained everything he ever valued in his life. Time had run out and dragging it would only slow him down. His eyes grew misty before his jaw clenched as the shouts grew louder in angered pitch. He ran outside and saw his wife already on a horse, waiting for him. _

_ "Alain!"_

_ Throwing the hood of his cloak up, he vaulted onto the horse's back and kicked, spurring the horse into a run. His eyes easily picked the diminishing form of the others, splitting in different directions. _

_ "Mother! Father!" A young woman's voice rang out and Alain glanced around in the chaos. _

_ "Roze," his wife breathed as they watched one of their kind caught by the encroaching mob, heard her screams as they set her on fire, shoving silver lances through her body, saw her daughter standing frozen in fear. He yanked on the reins and changed directions. _

_ A second rider beat them to it and scooped the girl up. Alain caught a flash of his face and sighed in relief. Marko. A third rider joined them, brother to the distraught girl. "I couldn't stop Father," he panted helplessly. "He...they..."_

_ "There is no time," Alain said briskly, leading them away and trying to avoid the arrows flying toward them. "We must get away from here!"_

_ He pitched into the darkness of the woods, horse beats echoing in his ear. _

_ This was no way to live their lives, he thought despairingly_.

o.o.o

Their movements were graceful, almost as if they were dancing through a crowd. Between the four of them, the Cabal's numbers had whittled down to almost nothing. Marko and Roze taking care of the stragglers while he embraced his wife, unmindful of the bullet holes riddling their clothes and Alain let out a satisfied sigh.

He looked around at the Old City Sanctuary structure, grand and mysterious. Built on the dreams of Gregory Magnus and Helen to preserve the existence of those who were different, to protect them from persecution and harm. His eyes caught sight of a plaque embedded in the wall. 'Sanctuary For All'. For all. Alain smiled. With Helen and Nikola on their side, the hope of the vampiric race resting on them, the day looked bright.

Finally, he thought, a purpose to live again.

O.o.O.o.O

Slowly Helen and Nikola separated, guns following their every move. "Oh, you caught us," Nikola said dead-panned. "Please. Don't hurt us."

In response, two guns were aimed at his face.

Mockingly, Nikola raised his hands. "Oh, please don't."

'**Drama queen**', Helen murmured.

"Drop the gun," a faceless, nameless agent ordered and Helen slowly dropped it in front of her, her movements tracked by two guns. It wasn't as if she needed it.

'**I love you**' he sent back mischievously.

The two exchanged a glance before simultaneously ducking and pivoting behind the nearest Cabal soldier on either side. Their figures were a blur to the human eye.

Helen's curls arced as her hands flashed out, grabbing heads and knocking them together hard enough that their brains rattled. She faltered as a shot went off and Helen felt a searing bullet pierce her shoulder through the back. How did Nikola manage to shrug off three bullets to the chest when the feel of one burning its way into her skin and lodging itself into her muscle was like a fiery pinch? Helen stumbled before she suddenly felt her vampiric features push forward and she growled.

Across from her, Nikola's black eyes and elongated teeth greeted her above two downed bodies. Foreign concern washed through her mind and she sent a reassuring tendril of thought back.

The remaining two soldiers backed up at the sight of Helen and Nikola vamped out, glanced at one another, and took off running in opposite directions.

**'All these tunnels lead to a main open cistern, it's probably how they got in; we'll meet up there.' **With a single glance at each other, a smirk from Nikola, a patented eye-roll from Helen, the two split up and chased after the Cabal.

Between them, they picked off the Cabal unlucky enough to have been sent their way, making good time to the main water cistern.

Helen internally marveled, blocking a punch with her arm, at the surge of power through her. It was as if she was young again, biologically anyway, doped up on adrenaline and steroids and then set free like a wild predator. Twisting the hand in her grasp until his shoulder popped, she slammed a head against a wall. She could do anything! And oh dear, she _was _turning into Nikola! Helen shuddered and raced on, dodging a shot.

The blood pumped, racing through her, urging. She delivered a single punch to the face. The man went down and stayed there.

A surprise shot ripped into her stomach, greeting her as she entered the main cistern, and Helen couldn't repress a snarl. She charged in.

Nikola arrived with flair, as there was no other way he'd prefer to arrive, punching a man into unconsciousness and watching him fly into a wall. He saw Helen flinch from getting shot once more, lamenting at her novice mistakes, but watched with interest as she was pushed into the cistern and the soldier tried to drown her when shooting her didn't work. He smiled smugly as Helen grabbed the man's wrist and hauled herself up.

Helen sputtered before backhanding the man. She took a second to stare at how far the man flew from a single hit.

Nikola clapped appreciatively, at her actions, but really because she was dripping with water. He lasciviously licked his lips. "You look so hot." His eyes weren't on her face and Helen followed them down to see her once-pristine white dress shirt, soaking wet and see-through. Unable to blush anymore, Helen futilely tugged her jacket closed as she stepped onto the floor.

Slicking her hair back, Helen resisted the urge to give in to Nikola's 'bedroom' eyes and turned away. "Come on, there are still more to take care of."

"Oh but Helen, you look really, really hot." His hand sneaked out to appreciate the fact that her wet pants clung to every curve.

Helen jumped and whirled to face him. "Did you just pinch my bottom?"

Nikola's lusty stare made it clear that he had and that his mind was no longer on the mission.

"You know what? Never mind." She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if it was a good idea to fall in love with you."

That snapped him out of it, somewhat. "Helen! What a cruel thing to say. Take it back."

"Make me." Helen strode off, searching.

Licking his lips and enjoying the view, Nikola murmured, "Gladly."

The two searched the tunnels, storage rooms, cellars, accompanied by much hand slapping from Helen to keep Nikola away from her assets. It did not help as Nikola remained his usual playful self, whispering innuendo-soaked remarks into her ear while permeating her mind with accompanying pictures.

Helen was completely flustered by the time they finished and made their way back to the elevator. Nikola smirking evilly at the success of his devious plan. He had her, oh yes, he had her right where he wanted her. Like a fly trapped in the sticky web of a predatory spider. He laughed slowly in her mind.

The door to the elevator opened and Helen almost crashed into the man standing inside it. "Alain." Helen exhaled, relieved to see him. Not only because it meant the Cabal threat at the front gates had been neutralized, but also because Nikola would cease his uncouth randiness in company. Or, at least, that's what she hoped.

Alain looked at the two and smiled indulgently. These two were always entertaining. Both intelligent and strong; he was devious, she was feisty. He could only imagine the terror their children would produce. His smile widened. He couldn't wait. "Everything looks clear up above, Helen. There are just a few stragglers to take care of."

She nodded. "Good. We just finished searching down here." She and Nikola joined him in the elevator, going up. Now it was time to clean up the mess. Where were they going to put all the bodies?

Nikola eyed Alain's shirt. "You got shot more times than Helen, Alain." He shook his head sadly, preening at his untouched pristine self. "Amateurs."

Alain stifled a smile at Helen's longing to hit Nikola. Though she would never do so, not in public with guests. So entertaining. Like a show, only free.

Letting out a large sigh, "They'll be back," Helen murmured, her eyes distant.

"You're always going to be fighting against someone, Helen, whether it be the Cabal or not." Alain had a look of old wisdom on his face. "It is the way of the world."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Did everyone have a happy Halloween? I gorged myself on chocolates and now none of my clothes fit properly =D! Big thank you to everyone who reviewed ::hugs:: and sorry for the wait and not my best chapter! Read, review, enjoy!

Bold = telepathy

Italicized parts = flashbacks

* * *

_Nikola involuntarily snarled as Helen arched against him in her struggles. Before he'd only been part-vampire; this...this was so much more, so visceral. The animalistic savageness lurking just beneath his skin threatened to take over his mind, suppress his humanity and leash him upon the world with the bare instinct to feed and mate his only reason to exist. "Inject her quickly!"  
_

_Spitting out blood alternated with short-term memory loss had not been expected, according to Marko. According to Marko, if injected, one was supposed to awaken, changed, and then collapse into exhaustion, like Nikola. Helen had not followed that pattern – nor was the medication to curb her blood lust taking properly.  
_

_It took Helen literally attacking him for Marko to work on a stronger dosage in order to suppress the hunger pangs for something more than a steak, potatoes, and a side of vegetables. For blood.  
_

_This was the third try. Nikola's arms clamped around Helen's struggling, snarling form, leaving Marko to dodge her flailing legs to inject her. Helen's full vampiric features emerged and Nikola held her tighter as the needle pierced her skin.  
_

"_I wanted to play rough with you, Helen," Nikola grunted through his fanged teeth, "but this is still not what I had in mind."  
_

_Helen kicked out, baring her teeth, as Marko withdrew the needle, managing to catch her heel on his chin. The older vampire faltered a step back, but sent a commiserating look to Nikola as he left. A normal human would have flown across the room and into the wall from Helen's hit, most likely fracturing their skull.  
_

_Nikola's arms were stronger than titanium as she struggled, waiting her out, waiting for the medication to kick in, for that blood lust to dissipate. Slowly, minutes passed. Helen's harsh panting filled the room and slowly her limbs relaxed. "Nikola," she breathed.  
_

_He gauged her to see if the fight had truly gone out of her or if she was faking. Helen, slumped in his arms and shivering, turned to burrow her face in his neck. "I can still feel it," she whispered hoarsely against his skin.  
_

_Expansion of that statement was unnecessary. He understood, because he could feel it too. Just like before. Only so much stronger. The urge to sink your teeth into tender flesh and feed – it was like a constant, unwanted voice murmuring in your ear that never left.  
_

_Coaxing like silky chocolate on your tongue, like the low smooth voice of a forbidden lover – to just give in and submit.  
_

_The medication suppressed the physical urge, kept it in check, but it did nothing to stop that invisible voice. Taunting them with a veritable walking buffet.  
_

_Nikola started from his thoughts, his absent stroking of Helen's back when he felt her tongue give his neck a small lick. Unconsciously, he gripped her tighter in his arms and tilted his head as Helen peppered his neck with tiny, open-mouthed kisses before Helen made a small hungry sound and latched onto his neck.  
_

_The sensation was pure euphoria, pleasure at its peak, but Nikola blinked hard, jerking back. "Helen," he rasped, squeezing her arms hard enough to leave bruises on a normal person.  
_

_The pain was just enough to block out that seductive voice and Helen threw herself back, eyes wide and filled with horror at the realization of what she was doing. Her hand clapped over her mouth, covering the action of her fangs growing. "Nikola," she said, muffled. "Dear god. I..." She started shaking her head, unable to believe she had almost started feeding off Nikola.  
_

_Helen backed away from him, horrified. Had she just tried to...?  
_

_"Helen - "  
_

_She just shook her head and continued backing away. A look of utter hopelessness shone in her eyes before Helen turned away and abruptly walked out, leaving Nikola alone.  
_

_He stared after her before his gaze went to a utilitarian metal clock on the wall. Past midnight. Only one more day. She had to get it under control by then. Or she'd be forced to watch her dreams taken from her.  
_  
o.o.o

A touch on her elbow brought her back to hear Henry say, "We're definitely going to need more vans to get these guys out of here." The Cabal had thrown more than fifty soldiers at them. They were now faced with the task of shipping those still alive, badly injured and possibly traumatized, to somewhere else. Nikola's suggestion to use them for experiments was ignored as was Kate's idea to torture them until they gave up all they knew about the Cabal's inner workings.

"There are empty storage rooms on the lower level," Nikola recalled, answering Henry's question. Only he could pick up Helen's unease at the sight of the dead bodies lying piled up. That pile was twice the size of those still alive. That taunting voice echoed in his mind, but he'd had more practice ignoring it. Helen was still battling hers. He drew wolf boy's attention away from her clenched fists, her distracted air. "Or a few empty cells? We'll burn the dead bodies."

Henry glanced at Nikola and a cold face greeted him. It was the same face that he had seen when Nikola had barged into the meeting between the House Heads. As a werewolf, he wanted to instinctively back away from a more dangerous predator. He looked at Helen.

Henry barely filtered into her mind as her eyes locked on the dead bodies. She could see the blood soaking their clothes, smell it permeating her nostrils, and that hunger lust was making itself known. That incessant voice chattered in her ear. Feed, feed, feed...They're already dead, no one will care...

Rushing pounded in her ears and the fangs were elongating in her mouth. Just a single sip...

'**Helen**.'

Helen shook her head, trying to ignore that voice and saw Henry looking expectantly at her. "Oh...yes. Um, why don't we take care of what we can." She really had no idea what Henry had asked her. It was disconcerting. "Declan seems to have everything under control here. Why don't we check on how everyone else is doing?" She gave a shaky smile before turning her back on the sight of so many bodies.

Just there for the taking...

They ran into Will and Kate in the corridors, the former managing to look disturbed and intrigued at the same time. Kate had been over-seeing Magnus' garden of half broken statues. It wouldn't have disturbed her so much, seeing the screaming faces, chipped fingers, and other assorted body parts if she hadn't known they were real.

Intrigued because instead of setting her ex-boyfriend's place on fire, she could've just turned him into stone.

"We're almost done checking this floor, but it totally looks like we kicked their asses."

Helen nodded, Nikola a silent shadow behind her. "Hopefully we have everything under control now and can get- "

A blur of black exploded from the corner of their eyes. The muzzle of a gun, the flash of eyes covered by a black mask, the sound of a shot exploding from the muzzle, speeding straight towards the unprotected chest of Will Zimmerman.

Kate's face was alarmed, her hand tracking toward the gun tucked in her waistband. Henry only had time to widen his eyes. Will saw death coming. Nothing could possibly stop a speeding bullet, that's what they stated. They never took vampire speed into account.

Helen flinched as the bullet pierced her skin, felt it impact her spine, the searing burn as the bullet burrowed itself into her. She had sped to place her body in front of her protégé's.

"Magnus!"

Her eyes darkened, silver flashing in her pupils. She gritted her teeth and unconsciously squeezed Will's arms in pain, hard enough to leave bruises. Realizing that, Helen shoved herself back, her hands in fists, and hiding her eyes until they reverted back to normal. "Will! I'm sorry. Are you alright?"

"A-OW!" Will rubbed his arms in disbelieving pain. He looked at her in confusion.

Nikola had moved into action on the stray soldier. He elbowed the man in the face; the man's nose exploded in blood and Nikola caught him before he fell and shoved him into a spare room.

"Will..."

Her protégé only gaped at her in disbelief. "Uh, Magnus..."

A prod to her back spun Helen around to see identical gaping looks on Kate and Henry. The latter suddenly stepped back, sniffing at the blood on his finger. "Yeah, she definitely got shot."

"But she's not falling down," Kate remarked, nodding. She kept nodding before bursting out, "_What the hell!_"

Helen ignored Nikola's snickering self and turned back to Will. She held out her hands. "Will...it's okay."

"You just got shot in the back! _Dead center, in the back_." Henry's hands flew around in wild gestures. "Shouldn't you be, I don't know, crumpled on the floor, staining the carpet with blood, and screaming in pain? Isn't that what someone's supposed to do when they get shot in the back?"

Kate scoffed, though her grip on her gun didn't loosen. "Screaming in pain? All depends on where you got shot, I guess."

Will kept staring.

"Please, can we concentrate here?" Helen closed her eyes briefly. This was not how she wanted to explain. "There's something I have to inform you all of."

"Yeah."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

Henry nodded, looking pensive before his eyes widened and he snapped his fingers. "Holy Batman, doc," he pointed at her, "you're Superwoman, aren't you?"

"...No, Henry." Helen could feel tiny rivulets of blood sliding down her back, the viscous substance sticking to her shirt to her skin. "I don't even want to know where you got that from."

Judging by the way her confused dark eyes fixed on him, Kate however did.

Henry shrugged. "You know, Sherlock Holmes, Jack-the-Ripper, the Invisible Man...Superwoman. It could have been possible."

Will let loose an aggravated groan. "Hey! Okay, can we get back to what's crazy here? Magnus...what's going on? You're standing there..._with a bullet in you_...and I could have sworn that your eyes, they flashed, I mean, I'm a bit overloaded with shock still, but they looked just like - " He cut himself off, but his eyes betrayed him.

"Like mine," Nikola finished, cleaning his fingers. His mischievousness was out in full force and his eyes darkened to their bottomless vampiric black hue, silver swirling within. "Just. Like. Me." He smiled wickedly.

Silence.

It was almost too easy to see the cogs turning in their heads.

A whimper from Henry. A dropped jaw from Will.

"Would you stop doing that?" Helen clipped out exasperatedly. '**Or you'll be sleeping alone tonight**'.

Nikola sighed mentally. '**Not even a month together and already you're kicking me out of the bedroom.**'

She rolled her eyes.

'**Are you sure about that, Helen? You'll miss me, you know**'.

"_Vampire_?" Will blinked and blinked again, staring at Helen as if he had never seen her before or was willingly, happily, drinking coffee. "As in...well...a vampire? _Magnus_?"

Henry whimpered again.

"Dude," Kate burst out. "You turned her? Like killed her and then fed her your blood in a Buffy the Vampire kind of way?" She paused, clearing her throat and shrugging. "Not that I ever watched that show. I'm way too cool for that."

"No! When this is over, I will explain everything. All you need to know is that I was given the choice of whether to do this or not. I didn't go blindly into this; I chose to do this." Helen looked stern. Will, Kate, and Henry looked at her and she knew their view of her had been shaken. "Look, continue on with the search and I promise an explanation later. _I promise_." On her face was a look that meant that whatever had happened had no bearing on the fact that they still worked for her and she was still in charge.

"So that really didn't hurt?" Kate gestured to Helen's back. She looked envious.

Helen looked wry. "It hurts. Believe me, getting shot is not something I relish." She exchanged a glance with Nikola.

o.o.o

_Eyes switched from the object in her hand to her face and back again._

_He looked disconcerted. "Helen," he began slowly. "I am not going to shoot you just so you can get used to it."  
_

_She looked mulish and the others in the room stifled their smiles. Their newest additions were a breath of fresh air, very entertaining fresh air. "I am not saying I want to get used to it, Nikola, just...if it should happen, I don't want it to be unexpected."  
_

"_I am not going to shoot you, Helen," Nikola repeated clearly.  
_

"_Why not? I've shot you before," she argued.  
_

"_Yes, I remember that quite clearly, thank you. My answer is still the same."  
_

_**'Infuriating man'**, Helen thought furiously, taking a seat on one of the chairs in the living room.  
_

_**'Be reasonable, Helen'**, Nikola cajoled her. '**It's a horrible plan'.**  
_

_Helen gave him a displeased look and then turned her back on him.  
_

_**'You love me'**, Nikola sing-songed in her head. Silence greeted him and Nikola continued, '**Or at least you love what I can do to you. The way your body moves underneath my hands, those delicious sounds you make when I touch you just right, and the way you arch up when my tongu-'**  
_

_Marko cleared his throat. "We can hear you, you realize."  
_

_Helen looked horrified and embarrassed. Nikola only sidled closer to her, smirking infuriatingly._

o.o.o

Will tore his eyes away from Helen's bullet wound. "You were saying about 'totally kicking their asses'?" he asked Kate.

"There are over a hundred rooms in here. There are some great places to hide." Henry turned sober as he defended her. He had been drafted, too many times to count, to entertain Ashley when she'd been younger. Repetitive games of hide-and-seek were a nightmare.

"Be extra careful," Helen cautioned as she sent them on their way. She ignored the looks she could feel on her bleeding back, their whispers.

The group split ways, every one of them mulling on what they had just learned. Helen and Nikola went to her office to come up with a plan to ensure the safety of the House Heads when they returned back to the Sanctuaries. The Cabal had been dealt a huge blow, and forewarned was forearmed. The House Heads were chosen based on a number of things. Intelligence, skills, instinct, among others. If Helen had been alerted that there was someone out to kill her in her own Sanctuary, she'd waste no time in ferreting them out. Trusting no one until they had proven, without a doubt and to her satisfaction, that they were innocent.

Nikola merely watched her from his chair for an hour and contributed nothing.

"The Cabal are still out there," she reminded him.

He sipped his wine, purloined from Helen's excellent wine cellar. "And they know we are now aware of their plans. This little demonstration has also shown that your Sanctuaries are ready and more than willing to fight back." And he was right. The Cabal would most likely back off, licking its wounds and watch. For now, it was probably safe to breathe. Hopefully.

Helen looked at him, sitting in the chair looking quite at home. He was settling in to her Sanctuary and that thought made her smile. That smile turned mischievous as she walked over to him.

Nikola sat there, eying her suspiciously, but waited. "Forgive me for butchering the Queen's English, Nikola, but," Helen bent over to whisper something not at all proper in his ear that caused a massive smirk to curl his lips.

She yelped as Nikola yanked her into his lap. His eyes gleamed. "I can definitely do that, Helen."

"Woah!" A clatter had Helen and Nikola turning their attention to the open door where Henry had flattened himself against the wall, shielding his face with his electronic tablet. "Um..."

Will stood right beside him, looking uncomfortable. His eyes flitted everywhere but in their direction.

Springing out of Nikola's lap, Helen slapped his hands away and smoothed down the edge of her skirt that Nikola had been playing with. "Will, Henry..."

"Go away," Nikola interrupted smoothly. "The grown-ups were playing." He devilishly smirked at the two youths, twining his fingers together and settling in. "And close the door, would you?"

Will jerked a thumb in Nikola's direction. "Is he going to be around much longer?" Knowing that somehow Tesla has managed to re-vamp himself, aggravating the man was a brave action for Will.

"A lot longer than you," Nikola smoothly retorted. "I'm actually useful."

"Ah, doc. Got some bad news," Henry interrupted before looking thoughtful. "Or good news, on how you want to look at it. I mean, from my point of view, not to be disrespectful of the dead 'cause the last thing I need is vengeful spirits - "

"Spit it out, wolf-boy." Nikola sighed.

Will wondered how Tesla knew about Henry. Who told him? Nobody told him anything; he didn't even have clearance for that. Did Magnus tell Tesla? He didn't even work here!

"Wexford's a goner. Some Cabal soldier boys broke down his door." Henry shrugged. "I guess Wexford heard the noise and wanted out. He tried to do his pheromone-thingy, but well, I guess getting sprayed with bullets worked faster than influencing people. We had his body moved to be shipped out with the others."

"That is good news," Nikola agreed. "Now I know what you're thinking, Helen, because I can hear you, that fish-boy was once your protégé with heavy ambition, but still a person deserving of respect, blah, blah, blah. You're still so optimistic; that's why it's so enjoyable to tease you. But in reality, fish-boy was a manipulative, selfish contamination in the world. That is all."

"The stains are going to be hard to get out," Bigfoot huffed, entering the room with Kate.

"All the floors have been cleared, every room checked and so I'm just going to sit here for a couple of hours 'cause my feet are killing me," she said lightly before turning serious. "And oh hey, while we're here, can I get an explanation now? I still can't get over it."

"Me either. Does this mean you can shoot electricity too?" Henry looked devastated when Helen amusedly shook her head 'no'.

Will shook his head. "I still can't believe you played dead." He kept shaking his head.

"And hey, what about that photo?" Kate glared at Nikola. "Was that really necessary? We were all freaked out. And that stupid coffin." And the former mercenary-for-hire wished for Tesla's short days of mortality in order to pop off a shot in the man. What did Magnus see in the guy?

Nikola brushed off the girl's glare, or perhaps didn't even see it, as Helen placed a hand on his shoulder. "Helen's condition at the time wasn't exactly stable." He sneered at Kate. "She had just undergone a torturous experience and needed to focus on that." He remembered forcing her still long enough to inject the medication, her fighting against the blood lust, that instinctive need to rip into something and feed. The enhanced senses...it nearly drove her mad. As it was, his constant presence beside her wasn't simply because he wanted to be there, but to help keep her grounded lest she tumble off the precipice into madness. "She didn't need anything else to worry about. So I handled it for her. She needed everyone here, ergo I brought everyone here." Nikola was completely unapologetic about the six days of grief everyone had been put through. His mind, his focus was, is, and would always be on himself and Helen.

And their future children.

Helen smiled apologetically. "I'm so sorry for putting you all through that. I did need everyone here. Nikola's way was just more dramatic." Like always. She remembered that time in Rome, his 'You will be killed in less than three minutes. Meet me now' note and their subsequent hide-and-seek in the catacombs when the man could have easily met her somewhere else. The man was born actor. She still couldn't believe when he'd presented the coffin to her; as it was, if it weren't for the circumstances, she have walked away in exasperation.

o.o.o

_"Now, Helen, obviously you can't be seen. So you will arrive in this!" Nikola grinned deviously as he lifted the cloth and revealed a polished honey-wood coffin.  
_

_Helen looked unamused and blinked. "Taking this vampire thing a little too far, aren't we Nikola?"  
_

_"It makes perfect sense, Helen," Nikola exclaimed, a little put out at Helen's lack of admiration at his genius. "They're expecting you in a coffin anyway. The Cabal will be watching and seeing this will make them even more assured to attack. And this," he fetched out a large bundle of what appeared to be large amounts of cheese-cloth. "This can be your shroud, to disguise the fact that you're still actually alive, in case anyone gets too close."  
_

_"Honestly Nikola," she huffed, "your flair for dramatics is showing."  
_

_Alain gave them a dry look. "I think we passed that point during the phone call to your associate, Helen." His lips quirked. "I didn't expect you to actually collapse on the floor and start bawling, Nikola."  
_

_Nikola sniffed. "I never do anything, half-assed." He looked lasciviously at Helen. "Anything," he emphasized._

o.o.o

Helen filled in the blanks that she had earlier excluded from their introduction with Alain and the others. About where her father obtained the vial from, the risks, the pain, the uncertainty of it all. About the chance to help the vampire race survive and the changes that would happen in the future. Her heart panged. Ashley would have made a wonderful big sister.

The team sat in silence as they digested everything Helen had just shared with them. Will ran a hand through his hair and then grimaced as Kate reached over and showed him a white hair that had fallen onto his shoulder. Had it only been less than a week that he was thinking how bored he was? Will half-heartedly wished for those days to come back. "So...you're supposed to usher in a new propagation of  
vampires?" It sounded so unbelievable, but at the same time, so...so Sanctuary-like. He was still expecting great figures like Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, and Amelia Earhart to pop up one day, greeting Magnus like an old friend.

Kate and Henry stayed silent, looking upset.

"Henry, Kate," Helen stood, "I know this is a shock, but it's my problem - "

"Problem? I'm a problem now?" Nikola interrupted.

She continued as if she hadn't heard him, " - and nothing will change. It'll be life at the Sanctuary as usual." She smiled reassuringly.

Henry shook his head. "Nah, doc, it-it's okay. It's just...well, we all know what this means, right?" He sighed.

Kate pointed her finger at Nikola. "It means that _he's_ going to be here...permanently."

The trio nodded solemnly with Henry shrugging and adding, "It...It's just going to take some time to get used to. You know, him being what he is and all."

Helen's tongue poked out as she smiled, holding back laughter. She cast an amused glance at Nikola's disgruntled face and felt a bubble of laughter pop inside. "Oh, yes, I suppose. It's definitely going to take some time to acclimatize."

Nikola stood up and cleared his throat. "Not that this 'family' time isn't inducing joy and feelings of togetherness, because it truly isn't, but Helen and I have some important things to do." He looked condescendingly at the 'children'. "I trust you can handle the care of Helen's guests?" He didn't wait for an answer, instead taking Helen's hand and tugging her out of the room.

"We're not servants, you know," Henry called. Not even officially living here and already giving orders.

"Shh," Kate hushed him. "Let's order lots of pizza."

"Well okay, but! No anchovies this time. I hate those."

Kate snickered. "I only put those on because I knew it grossed you out. Let's try jalapeño peppers and extra chili flakes!"

"No! Tried and true, ground beef, sausage, pepperoni, and ham!"

"You're such a carnivore."

Big Foot shuffled off, grumbling under his breath about what he was going to do about the Wexford's blood stains. He hoped they didn't have to rip out the carpet.

And Will? Will Zimmerman stood staring at nothing in particular as the office emptied out, thinking about Magnus' change. He wondered how difficult the decision really was and if being a vampire brought painful memories of Ashley. He knew that this was just the beginning of another saga in his life. With Nikola Tesla along for the ride. He sighed. Man, Magnus sure knew how to pick 'em. "This place just gets weirder and weirder." Will smiled. Deep, deep down, he knew he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

O.o.O.o.O

She bemusedly followed Nikola. Her question about where they were going were ignored, so she contented herself by getting back at him by projecting her admiration at his body in motion. That lean body fitted in a perfectly-tailored suit and knowing exactly what it looked like underneath. Every muscled curve, lean flat planes, hard tones, and Helen smirked eerily like Nikola as he growled.

In a blur too quick to track, one moment Helen's hand had been gently ensconced in Nikola's, the next she was up against the closed door of her bedroom, trapped in Nikola's arms.

She raised an eyebrow. "This was the important thing we had to do?"

In response, he leaned in close, pressing his body against hers. He nosed his way under her hair and kissed her skin lightly. "Helen," he murmured, "there's nothing more important that this." He kissed her again, trailing his lips down her neck, causing her breath to hitch.

That familiar heat began to build within Helen, feeling Nikola's hands descend upon her waist, massaging her skin through her clothes. Her hands came up to grip his arms. "Nikola..." She made no protest as his lithe fingers flicked buttons open. His eyes tracked his progress, the look in his irises made it look like he was unveiling the greatest gift in his life.

"Absolutely beautiful," he said hoarsely. Unable to contain himself, he roughly palmed her face and captured her mouth, drugging her with his lips.

With half of her mind in a dizzy daze and despite the shivers over her skin from Nikola's wandering hands, Helen pushed against Nikola, driving him toward the bed.

They landed on her bed, dislodging the pillows and crumpling the blanket. "Definitely need a bigger bed." He shoved the rest of her clothes off, eager to touch her. To feel her skin underneath his fingers, to wring more beautiful sounds from her lips.

In swift mode, Helen straddled him, placing her hands on his chest and did a bit of undressing herself, spreading her fingers out to feel as much of his skin as she could. "You often wondered what this would be like, didn't you?" She indicated their position.

Nikola gave her a pleased smirk. His hands descended to grip her waist, thumbs caressing. "I also wondered if I could ever get you to scream my name. Now I know."

She slowly, tortuously to Nikola, leaned forward until their bodies were flush against each other. "Now you know this too," she murmured.

A searing line of heat sparked along their bodies. Nikola's smirk melted into a contented smile, hidden as Helen lowered her lips to his to meet in a sweet kiss. Her long brunette curls fell in a curtain around their faces so that Helen's face, her blue eyes, her porcelain cheeks, and delicious mouth were the only things Nikola could see. And it was magnificent.

They hadn't bothered to turn on any lights; instead they joined together in the dark. Hands caressed skin, leaving a fiery trail in their wake. Helen arched against Nikola's body, biting her lips to quell her pleasure, but Nikola's skillful hands, his lips, his whispered words and intense eyes, brought them out anyway.

Toes curled, insides quivered. "Helen," Nikola groaned out, his muscles flexing and hard against his lover's soft, pliant body as they melted together. The heat their passion conjured enveloped them; the world around them faded, centered only on their pleasure, their vocal bliss, the feel of skin against skin - until the sensations overwhelmed them, peaking over that edge, and toppling them over.

Lying amongst disheveled bed-sheets, Helen murmured, "I don't think I need to ask whether you're happy."

Nikola looped his arms around her. "I am, once again, a vampire, my ancestral race still lives, I have you and you're a vampire. And besides your Sanctuaries, our primary goal is to indulge in wondrous baby-making. How can I not be happy?"

"Like I said," Helen traced his jawline, "I didn't think I needed to ask."

* * *

Epilogue to follow :)


	18. Epilogue

A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I wanted to end this just right. When I thoroughly plotted it out, it turned out I had to do some research. So, I really hope you enjoy this and thank you to everyone who read and reviewed.

* * *

Epilogue

"Can you believe this?" one man whispered to another. "It's crazy." He put an empty bucket down on the concrete floor, followed by a bag of concrete mix.

His friend merely shook his head. "When you've got money, and lots of it, you tend to become crazy. I don't ask questions. As long as they're paying my salary..."

The beautiful blonde smiled to herself as she overheard the conversation from across the wide room that was to become the ground-floor library. At first, the five of them had argued when the idea was proposed. Should it be a high-rise, made of metal and glass? Or like their Italian villa, complete with mortar columns and marble floors? Or perhaps Gothic in style like Helen's Sanctuary? Egyptian? Russian? In the end, a hodge-podge of cultures mixed to produce the elegant monstrosity being built.

Marko strode down the hallway, muttering to himself with a sheaf of blueprints tucked under his arm. The cavernous basement, with 12-foot-high ceilings was to be the domain of his state-of-the-art laboratory. Will trailed after him with a cup of coffee in hand, struggling not to drop his jaw at the beginnings of a palace in progress.

The finished parts were already impressive, but it would take years to complete the finished project. Specialty craftsmen were flown in and housed as they created works of art. Mosaic floors, marble fountains, ornate and beamed ceilings, decorative plaster moldings, and only the grandest of furnishings were all assembled under the watchful eyes of Chiska and Roze.

Alain was content to over-see to the outside of the vast granite and limestone building being built over the size of two football fields - and directly across the street from Old City Sanctuary. Copying Helen's style with high-tech stone walls all around the perimeter, the sight of the unfinished property was already impressive and had curious visitors peeking in, including the mayor.

When Alain explained their friendship with Dr. Magnus, the mayor simply nodded and smiled, promising to have all their necessary permits fast-tracked within days. The mayor was, after all, an abnormal. Who knew?

Surprisingly, Kate was with him as she pointed out possible entry points. Her mercenary past being put to good use, but privately it was moot point to her. Who wanted to break into a residence of vampires?

And that was only if the fools got through the wicked security set-up that Danel and Henry were hashing together in one of the tech labs that Danel had claimed as his own. With Helen away on an abnormal hunt, the trio had shown up at the vampire's doorstep across the street in the early morning hours.

Helen's associates had warmed up to them. In Henry's words, 'they weren't anything like Tesla at all'. Chiska laughed softly to herself and looked out the window to the sight of Old City Sanctuary across the street. Kate had explained their presence there in a hushed tone. The boss was returning that day and Tesla, in not-so-nice words, had told them to vacate the premises ASAP (read: get out now).

She laughed again. Even when they weren't there, those two were always entertaining.

O.o.O.o.O

The carpet did have to be ripped out.

To be replaced by exotic wood flooring specially ordered by the newest, and self-proclaimed most important, member of the Sanctuary Network. Nikola Tesla. The Nikola Tesla. Electrical genius, creator of the world today, and vampire. And yes, that was what was hammered into a pure gold plate nailed to the wall next to the door of his office.

Plush furnishings, state-of-the-art equipment, and a ['**Do Not Disturb (except for you, Helen)'**]hanging on the shiny gold doorknob. Nikola was making his presence known, even though he never used his office as anything other than a storage room. He insisted on having one in case he had visitors, visitors that did not want to kill him, that is.

Nikola spent most of his time on the top floor of the Old City Sanctuary where he had converted the entire level into a lab where he could create and experiment to his heart's content. He spent all his time there, with the windows thrown open to let his pet pigeons in or to gaze over Old City like an emperor over his subjects. When he wasn't bugging or seducing Helen, purposely irritating the 'children', or accompanying Helen on a Sanctuary capture, he was hovering over some contraption on a table, pulling miracles out of his brilliant mind.

Three months after the Cabal's attack, Nikola was leaning the stone still of a window staring out at nothing in particular. His ears picked up the usual sounds of birds, cars driving by, even the faint sounds of conversations of people passing by, though that was somewhat over-ridden by construction work. The children had been kicked out, the butler mutt making himself scarce, and he absentmindedly tugged on the collar of his dress shirt, fiddling with his expensive tie before remembering her words.

o.o.o

_"A colleague of mine has tracked down an abnormal in Alaska." Helen quirked an eyebrow at him. "Coming?" _

_Dramatically shivering, Nikola sneered. "No thank you." His eyes raked over her bulky clothing. "Tell me only if you're heading somewhere warm, where wearing a lot less clothing than that is required. Or," he brightened, "we could head back to your villa. We never did finish our stay. And I never did get around to telling you how much I appreciated you in that bikini."_

_Helen, as per usual, ignored most of what he was saying. "Speaking of which, my caretaker, Pierre, fixed everything up and it seems you owe me some very expensive chocolates, Nikola. Domori, if you please."_

_"Helen," Nikola murmured. "We're together now. Shouldn't it be, what's yours is mine and what's mine is mine? So that means, your chocolates, your wine, you even, are all mine." He smirked widely, waiting for her to tell him to get out. Bantering with her never ceased to amuse him. _

_Keeping a straight face, Helen brought her face inches away from his. Their eyes locked as Nikola, arrogant as ever, waited for her to give in. His smirk widened as her lips loomed closer, her breath brushing his face as quoted, "'Notes of petals, caramel, and buttermilk.'Apurimac chocolate, Nikola, soon or I'll stop sleeping with you **and**," She narrowed her eyes to show that she was serious. "I'll write a tell-all book about the real Nikola Tesla. The one who enjoyed baking with me who once set his hair on fire in the middle of an experiment and who had his first kiss at the age of twenty." Helen smiled viciously._

_"You wouldn't dare," he breathed. "I did not 'enjoy' baking! You asked, you were my only friend at the time, what was I supposed to say? No?" _

_Helen laughed in his face, straightening up. "Try not to blow anything up."_

_"How about burning stuff down? Is that acceptable?" he called to her retreating back. _

o.o.o

Telepathy was wonderful. Not only did it make it even easier to distract Helen, it made them an even better team than before, if that was possible. It also let Nikola know, from her mind to his, that she was at the airport and would be home soon. He wasn't watching anything in particular, rather keeping an eye out for Helen's car. His eyes sharp against the sunlit sky, tracking that speck in motion as it grew in size. Helen's curls streaming gently behind her, eyes covered in shades, as she sat behind the wheel of her black convertible, speeding towards home, towards him.

As she stopped in front of the gate, a look up would have revealed an empty window.

O.o.O.o.O

The foyer was awash with sunlight. Warm, peaceful, silent.

Helen closed the door behind her and set her bags down beside her. She inhaled contentedly. Home at last. Though it was odd that no one was there to greet her, especially Nikola as she had told him at the airport. Helen smiled wryly. The man probably got caught up in another experiment...or he was waiting for her to find him, slouched attractively somewhere on a sofa with a glass of wine in his hand, a smirk bending his lips. A taunt about how she must have missed him a lot to be so eager to see him playing on his tongue.

Well, two could play at that. Helen shrugged off her jacket, combing through her curls. A warm bubble bath sounded wonderful at the moment. Nikola would eventually become bored and frustrated and seek her out. An invitation to join her in the monstrous Italian-marbled tub he'd insisted on putting in would soothe him.

A piece of white caught her eye amidst the serene setting and Helen curiously approached it. A card, small, plain, white, rectangular, sat innocently on the third step of the marble steps. Helen's brow crinkled. Picking it up, her confusion cleared slightly as she recognized Nikola's curved writing on the front.

[_**'You...'**_]

You? You what? Flicking open the card, a small smile curved her lips.

[_**'...inspire me.'**_]

Oh dear, what was that infernal, irresistible man up to now? Helen looked over the card, trying to figure out what was going on. She glanced around to see if there was anything else. Another flash of white at the top of the stairs beckoned her. She laughed quietly under her breath, moving up the stairs. Now what on Earth was going on? Before picking up an identical white card, she spied yet another waiting for her at the end of the corridor. Nikola had graciously left her a trail of crumbs with which to find him. How kind.

[_**'I...'**_]

The single word was written on the front.

[_**'...adore you.'**_]

Of course he did. He had uttered the sentiment over and over again, along her bare skin the night before she left to Alaska. He had softly whispered it in her mind when he saw her off to the airport.

Clutching the cards to her chest with one hand, Helen padded quietly down the carpeted corridor to the next speck of white.

[_**'You...'**_]

A smile was threatening to permanently adhere to her lips as she read the message inside.

[_**'...make me feel alive.'**_]

The sentiment was returned. In the three months since her change, since Nikola permanently installed himself in her life, Helen viewed life through a burst of vivid, passionate colors. A life of gray inundated with splashes of warm red, rich gold, serene blue, intense green, vivid purple, fiery orange...

Glancing both ways down another long corridor, Helen spotted the next one sitting on a wood table to the right, far down, crooking an invisible finger.

[_**'I...'**_]

Inside, written in his writing.

[_**'...cherish you.'**_]

The smile became permanent. Her blue eyes glowed. The tiny white cards urged her forward, an irresistible lure.

[_**'You...'**_]

Warmth flooded her.

[_**'...are my greatest joy.'**_]

The messages were beyond anything Helen imagined. Nikola was a constant surprise, and that was what made him so interesting.

[_'__**I...'**_]

Up the steps, Helen went, like Alice in Wonderland following that elusive white rabbit. Not knowing what awaited her at the end, but knowing it was something spectacular. Something wondrous. She hoped it would be Nikola.

[_**'...love the feel of you in my arms.'**_]

Quietly, slowly, she opened the cards, revealing each heartfelt message like it was the greatest gift she'd ever received. Unwrapping it, slowly, layer by layer, and widening her eyes at what was inside.

[_**'You...'**_]

Down the multiple corridors, up the stairs, past doors, windows filtering warm sunshine across her face and down her back. She followed the trail of love notes; the warmth building up, tingling underneath her skin.

[_'__**...are my treasure.'**_]

The next card was perched on the ground in front of the door to the roof, a crisp white on the burgundy carpet.

[_**'I...'**_]

Helen flipped open the card and her blue eyes lit up again:

[_**'...am always thinking about you...' (Flip over)**_]

Her head tilted as she read the extra words and she flipped the card over to the back.

[_**'...naked.'**_]

A surprised laugh erupted from her lips. Now that was more like it. Helen shook her head amusedly, but her hold on the cards she'd gathered was tight. Opening the door, the short stairwell to the roof was dimly lit. No white cards sat on its stone steps, but was instead taped to the outside door. Entering the stairwell, climbing the steps, still feeling like Alice, Helen read the card.

**[****'Care to come outside?'****]**

Having come all this way, having been slowly enticed as any woman who'd been away from her lover too long would be, seduced with notes, and teased, nothing could prompt Helen to turn back now. She would love to come outside. What else would he have waiting for her? Her hand encircled the doorknob and turned, pushing open the door.

Helen's lips opened in an 'O' of wonder. Despite being on the roof, in the open air, the rich and heady scent of chocolate wafted up and around her. Looking around, she had literally walked into a garden of chocolate.

Packaged in boxes, lying in open tins surrounded by string confetti, overflowing in satin sacks, wrapped temptingly in colored foil, perched in woven baskets, temptingly stacked in crates. Chocolate was everywhere. And amidst it all, a beautiful left-hand chaise lounge upholstered in red with mahogany finish legs. Sitting on the soft fabric was a large gift box with a big black bow on top. A sign **['Open Me']**, stuck on it.

Helen glanced around, looking for Nikola's smug face, but he was nowhere to be found. Tucking his notes into her pocket, Helen strode toward the lounge and sat, turning her attention to the gift box. Another crumb for her to follow?

Untying the bow and lifting the lid, Helen couldn't help but laugh. Inside where dozens of Domori chocolate bars, of every flavor produced and sold. He'd actually went and bought her some. And even though her taste buds weren't what they once were, Helen was still too new at this vampire thing to not crave one of favorite guilty pleasures. Another card was taped inside.

**['Turn Around']**

It was official. Nikola Tesla was one hell of a tease. With the notes, the veritable buffet of the best chocolate, the idea, the effort, the loving sentiment behind it all. He was driving her slowly mad. Setting the lid down on the ground, Helen turned around and almost started in bewildered surprise. Dressed simply in a white shirt, tie, and slacks, Nikola sat beside her. How...? He smirked at her bewilderment, eyes playfully dancing.

He silently opened held up a final note and grinned mischievously.

**['Eat Me']**

Her shoulders shook with laughter and Helen shook her head in amusement. "No, thank you."

Nikola pouted, flipping the note over.

**['Kiss Me']**

She smiled. "That I can do." Leaning forward, Helen trailed a finger down the side of his face and traced his lips before pressing her lips against his. Angling her head, their lips met again and again, tenderly. Nikola's note fluttered to the ground as his hands dropped to their familiar position, cradling her hips, pulling her closer. She was home. He was happy she was there.

Their lips parted, but their bodies remained pressed reassuringly together. Helen looked into his playful eyes, then around at the garden of chocolate. "How...?" Helen frowned in confusion, in wonder, in disbelief. How had he managed to do this? "I mean...I..." It was true. Nikola Tesla never did anything by half.

"Ah, I've made you speechless. Excellent." He squeezed her waist before letting go. "You demanded chocolate, didn't you? Anything to stop you from writing that embarrassing tell-all." He twisted slightly, pulling something from behind him. An open box of sinfully delicious-looking chocolate truffles. "Your chocolate, love." He held the box up. "Why don't you try this one?" He pointed to one, a dark chocolate truffle highlighted with a gold streak. "A champagne truffle. Nothing wrong with a little bubbly."

Helen couldn't disagree with him on that and she picked it up, popping it into her mouth.

"Let it melt slowly on your tongue, Helen. Allow it to spread along your taste buds. Take the time to discern the different notes in the chocolate, the taste, the quality. Appreciate the subtleties. Allow the chocolate to overwhelm your senses." Nikola gave her a slow, rakish grin that had Helen believing he wanted her to think of something, _or someone else_, overwhelming her senses. Still, she did as he said and found the chocolate delicious.

Holding up the box, Nikola pointed to another truffle. "Now why don't you try this one?" It was a plain-looking dark chocolate truffle.

"Shouldn't I clean my palette?" Helen asked teasingly.

He shook his head. "It won't matter with this one."

That got her attention and she looked at the one he pointed at again. It looked ordinary enough to her. She picked it up and could instantly tell something was different. "Nikola," she said slowly, scrutinizing the truffle. "This isn't a truffle."

He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Helen turned the truffle around in her hand. "See? There's a line running through it, like it opens like a box - " Her fingers pried open the truffle and her eyes widened.

A thin silver ring lay nestled inside.

Her mouth parted in surprise. This day was full of them.

"Do you like it?" Nikola watched her face.

Slowly, Helen picked up the slim ring and studied it. If one looked closely, one could see two hearts entwining each other to create a design she had never seen before and she said so.

"It's a single wire," Nikola explained. "I made it." After browsing on the Internet for a ring in a passing fancy, he'd come across an entire community of jewelers who made jewelry out of simple wires. He'd downloaded the tutorial for this one, not that he would ever tell Helen that.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, still studying it. "Adding 'jeweler' to your impressive repertoire?"

"I can't help but be good at anything I do. It's a curse." Nikola slowly took her left hand, taking the ring from her. He stared at her, eyes sincere and warm as he paused for a moment. The ring hovered in the air before sliding smoothly on her finger. It fit perfectly as they both knew it would. Their eyes never left each other's and as the ring slid home, simultaneous smiles lifted their lips. They were still smiling as they met for a second kiss; their fingers entwined.

He didn't ask her and she never uttered her consent. They were probably never going to have a ceremony; neither had the burning inclination for a piece of paper to declare their bond and both were more than fine with that. They were in this together, living the rest of their lives side-by-side. Nothing written on paper, nothing logged in a government office somewhere, no witnesses.

To them, marriage was a paltry word to describe what they had.

What they had, simply put, was more.

O.o.O.o.O

"...and that was how your father gave me this ring," Helen explained to her enraptured audience.

The blue eyes set in a cherubic face shined. "So you were like a princess and daddy was the prince!" The small body burrowed further into her mother's warmth.

Helen frowned. Prince? Princess? Not...really. She smiled down at the head of brown curls leaning against her chest. Her daughter was at that age where princesses were everything and pink was the only color that existed. "I suppose so, Viktoriya."

The blue eyes became calculated in an instant. "Mommy...do you still have all those chocolates?"

She laughed. "No, darling. This happened quite a few years ago. Long before you were born." She tapped her daughter on the nose.

Viktoriya frowned, an exact match to her father's. "Would they have tasted like M&M's?"

"Certainly not, young lady," Nikola announced from the open doorway where he had been unashamedly eavesdropping. "We need to broaden your horizons." He sauntered into the room, dressed in a crisp dress shirt, tailored vest, and slacks.

On Nikola's heels, a small, slightly pudgy one-year-old toddled rapidly after him. Dressed in khaki pants, a blue polo shirt, and the tiniest pair of Nike shoes, the toddler's sneakered soles thumped on the wood flooring with great enthusiasm. The blond highlights in his brown hair shone in the sunlight as he tried his hardest to catch up to Nikola's saunter.

Helen rose and Nikola looked back as he tripped on the fringes of the carpet with a loud thump. Viktoriya giggled. The family watched as, instead of bursting into tears, the boy merely looked fascinated at the fringes that had caused his unseemly fall.

Plopping onto his cushioned bottom, he reached a pudgy hand out to the white woolen strands, grabbing a few. Fingers clumsily inspected this odd-looking thing with an intensity that would have made Nikola proud. After a few moments of tangled study, the boy stuffed the material in his mouth.

"Dimitri, no!" Helen chastised.

Nikola caught her by the waist. "Wait."

"But - "

"How will he learn anything if he doesn't experiment, Helen?" He smirked at her.

Dimitri's baby face screwed up in disgust before spitting out the white fringes. "No!" he spat loudly.

"See?" Nikola raised his eyebrows. "Now he knows that eating carpets is disgusting. He won't do it again." He shot a look down at the little girl standing beside him, clutching adoringly at his pants. "Reminds me of someone when she was his age."

"I didn't eat the carpet!" Victoriya protested, not wanting to be compared to her little brother in any way. She shifted her blue eyes to her mother and paused. "Did I?" she asked hesitantly.

Helen smiled softly down at her fiery second daughter. Ashley would always be her first; her blonde feisty light. Taken from her physically, but held always, securely, in the warmth of her heart. "Of course not, darling."

"You're right," Nikola announced. He pulled teasingly on his daughter's brown curls and grinned at her triumphant look. "It wasn't the carpet."

"It was the bathroom soap you ate."

Fin.

* * *

For pics of Helen's ring, villa, etc., you can find them on my LJ, the link to it is on my profile. Thanks for reading!


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